Many political commentators have said that this year’s midterm elections could break the political norms. All 435 House seats are on the ballot this November, as well as 35 U.S. Senate seats and 36 governorships. The Republicans need a net gain of 5 seats to win the House and also win 1 more seat to control the Senate. Other races including the elections of secretaries of state, attorneys general and control of state legislatures may also affect the 2024 presidential election. A number of issues affecting the lives of voters may determine their decisions this year. These include voters’ concerns about high inflation, the election integrity of the 2020 election’s legitimacy, immigration control, and abortion rights now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade.

CONGRESS

U.S. House Massachusetts District 7

Ayanna Pressley – Democrat

Ayanna Pressley is currently U.S. House member representing Massachusetts’ 7th Congressional District. She will be running for reelection during the upcoming midterm election. After defeating 10-term incumbent Rep. Michael Capuano in District 7’s Democratic primary election in 2018, Pressley was elected as the first woman of color to represent the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in Congress.

Pressley’s goals are to hold the White House accountable for its policies and to advance those policies that favorably affect the people of her district. She has introduced legislation to ensure fair compensation for low-wage workers, to support survivors of sexual assault and harassment, and to fundamentally re-think our criminal legal system, among much else. And she has been a vocal advocate on behalf of our immigrant communities, led the creation of the Future of Transportation caucus, and fought to protect critical reproductive rights.

Pressley is also part of “The Squad,” a group of six progressive Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives and is endorsed by The Working Families Party. Other members of “The Squad” include Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (NY-14), Ilhan Omar (MN-5), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Cori Bush (MO-1), and Jamaal Bowman (NY-16). The Squad says it has delivered many of its policies in the last session of Congress while not taking corporate PAC money. These include bringing cash relief directly to working people and fighting for necessary investments in working people such as Medicare expansion, universal child care, and affordable housing.

Donnie Palmer – Republican

Donnie Palmer has advanced from the Republican primary and will be running for election to the U.S. House to represent Massachusetts’ 7th Congressional District. Palmer is a special needs educator, a professional heavyweight boxer, and a US Army veteran. He says he is passionate about supporting the police and public safety issues, abandoning the teaching of racism and critical race theory in public schools, and standing up for citizens on housing and amenities issues.

On August 29th, 2020, Palmer posted on Facebook, “ARE WE ABOUT TO ELECT A CHINESE CITIZEN TO CONTROL THE CITY OF BOSTON?” In addition, he referred to Covid-19 as a “CHINESE VIRUS,” and commented, “DOES CHINA RUN BOSTON? ”  Such statements are untrue and raise questions about him wanting to unite and protect Boston. Despite his racial comments, Palmer still received thousands of dollars from Massachusetts Republican officials in support of his campaign.

STATEWIDE OFFICES:

Governor of Massachusetts

Maura Healey – Democrat

Maura Healey is currently the Attorney General of Massachusetts. Her current position began on January 21, 2015 and will continue until January 4, 2023. Prior to her role as the Attorney General, Healey served as Deputy State Attorney General under Martha Coakley and as  head of the Civil Rights Division. She also led the Business and Labor Bureau and the Public Protection and Advocacy Bureau. Serving as the first openly gay Attorney General in the country, Healey is now running to become the first elected woman governor of the Commonwealth.

Healey’s platform is focused on reproductive rights and aims to ensure that Massachusetts patients and providers are protected. She also advocates for banning the LGBTQ+ “panic defense” a legal defense tactic that claims that a defendant’s attacks of LGBTQ+ victims should be excused due to their “panic” over the victim’s sexual orientation. Healey addresses systemic racism by supporting “investments” that prevent entry into the criminal justice system. In many of her speeches, she focuses on workers and the middle class; tax relief for families;  funding early education and care; and lowering the cost of prescription drugs. Climate change is a top priority.

Healey is best known for suing Donald Trump and pursuing “corporate villains” like Purdue Pharma. Despite her two terms as attorney general, giving her a national reputation as a progressive with strong name recognition among voters, Healey has been questioned about her attitudes on police accountability by young activists. Some question her approach to facial surveillance, issues of drug policy, and suggest that Healey has “blind spots” regarding  racial justice issues. But a political spokesman for Healey said that she is “one of the strongest and most effective voices for racial justice and reforms to our criminal justice system.”

Geoff Diehl – Republican

Geoff Diehl was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives who represented the 7th Plymouth District. He assumed office in 2011 and left on January 2, 2019. In the 2017 legislative session, he served on the Committee for Global Warming and Climate Change, Technology and Intergovernmental Affairs, and the Housing Joint Committee.

Diehl says he wants to make Massachusetts a better place to live in. He supports economic development and wants to help small businesses, women entrepreneurs, and create jobs. Diehl also advocates for energy independence by committing to renewable energy, and he wants to impose fiscal discipline. He promotes governmental accountability through reforming state agencies by using innovation to improve public service and restoring trust in the integrity of elections.

In the past, Diehl has called the 2020 election “stolen from Trump.” After Healey accused Diehl of adopting a false election claim, Diehl said that he will not “blindly accept” the result of the 2022 election. In response to this controversial statement, Diehl later said that he will “absolutely” accept the result but also allow space to question elections.

Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts

Leah V. Allen – Republican 

Leah Allen was a former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives who represented the 12th Essex District. She assumed office in 2013 and resigned in 2015 to focus on her nursing career. Before running for the primary, Allen was fired from her job at Beverly Hospital for not complying with the COVID-19 vaccination mandate. Allen commented at a press meeting that this incident made her want to get involved in public policy again. Now, Allen is officially running together with Republican nominee for Governor Geoff Diehl to push the agenda they support.

Allen claimed that she would be “a liaison to parents.” She wants to expand students’ school choices and establish a new curriculum oversight office within the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Allen is also a big advocate for individual liberty and constitutional rights. She wants to eliminate all unfair mandates and rehire all the state workers who have been fired for their vaccination status, and punish the officials who independently mandate vaccines for employees.  Allen wants to lower the cost of living and ensure residents economic prosperity. She hopes to do so by recruiting companies to Massachusetts so that new jobs will be created. She also supports local aid without policies that could harm taxpayers.

Kim Driscoll – Democrat

Kim Driscoll is joining Maura Healey on the ballot this November. She was declared winner in the Democratic primary nomination after defeating state Senator Eric Lesser and state Representative Tami Gouveia. In 2006, Driscoll became Salem’s first woman mayor by winning an underdog race against the incumbent mayor. Over her four terms as the mayor, Driscoll has turned Salem from a town with record deficits, poor financial management, and a declining bond rate to one of the “Best places to live” in Massachusetts (nominated by Boston Magazine). She has helped secure private and public funding, and enhanced Salem’s public infrastructures including a new MBTA train station. She has adopted a climate change mitigation plan to reduce residents’ electric bills. There are now plans to make Salem the marshaling port for the Commonwealth Wind Project. In addition, Driscoll led Salem’s tourism profile to grow exponentially during her terms. Driscoll thinks that her 16 years of municipal experience and work on the ground makes her a standout from other policy makers who only talk more than they act.

In the midst of the primary, a billionaire-backed PAC (political action committee) called Leadership for Mass begin running campaign ads on television for Driscoll. In response, Driscoll’s opponents in the primary, Lesser and Gouveia, sent a letter to state leadership calling upon officials to denounce Driscoll and the PAC. Driscoll distanced herself from the PAC saying that she was really focused on her race and did not know what the PAC was doing. According to  state campaign finance data, Lesser, Driscoll and Gouveia had $1,037,235; $305,000; and $196,000 respectively.

Secretary of State

Rayla Campbell – Republican

Rayla Campbell is a Boston native. She went to public high school in Boston and joined the workforce after graduation. Later, she returned to school and became a DANB certified dental assistant and eventually transitioned to insurance and claims management while volunteering for the causes she supports. Campbell thinks that Secretary of State William Galvin has supported unconstitutional violations and has not been listening to the voices of the people. In addition, she thinks that Massachusetts has been infiltrated with communism and socialism in the recent decade, and that the media has been a “polluted propagandist for the left.” Campbell claims that she will listen to the disparate voices of the people, and upgrade the system to encourage civic participation.

Having doubts about the integrity of the 2020 election, Campbell opposed the mail-in voting system and wanted to ensure a fair and clean election with 100% accurate votes. She also wants to protect consumers by having oversight of securities and corporations. She said she will protect investors against unreasonable burdens, encourage a free market place, remove bureaucracies and onerous regulations, and make corporations and businesses feel welcomed in Massachusetts. In addition, Campbell emphasized that she will have oversight over lobbyists and their registration if she wins the midterm. She also has a team of curators for historical artifacts and hopes to increase a citizen’s accessibility to them.

William (Bill) Galvin – Democrat

William Galvin has been the Massachusetts Secretary of State since 1995. He has won re-election six times and is running again for his 8th four-year term. If Galvin is re-elected this year, he will become the longest serving secretary of state in the history of the Commonwealth. Galvin has also been actively participating in the National Association of Secretaries of State, serving as the co-chairman of the Committee on Presidential Primaries. Before his role as the Secretary of State, Galvin was elected at the age of 25 and served as state representative in the Massachusetts General Court (Allston-Brighton District) for 15 years. Galvin was known as “the Prince of Darkness” as he often worked late into the night and was skillful in overturning his adversaries. In the beginning of his political career, Galvin worked as an aide to the Massachusetts Governor’s Council while completing his law degree at Suffolk University Law School.

Galvin’s opponents have expressed frustration about Galvin being in office for 27 years and still unable to improve Election Day registration. Galvin claimed that he supported Election Day registration, but the state legislature rejected it. Others have criticized him for being meddlesome towards the Historical Commission, enforcing stricter rules for financial broker-dealers, and his “weak” enforcement of public-record laws.