According to a statewide University of Massachusetts Amherst/WCVB Poll, incumbent Democratic Governor Maura Healey holds a 57% to 32% lead over Republican challenger Mike Minogue with just two weeks until Election Day, while independent candidate Andrea James trails at 6%.
The survey of 800 registered voters, conducted between October 5 and 12, highlights strong broad-based support for Healey across demographics, including a significant 66% to 24% advantage among women voters. Researchers note that Healey maintains strong approval ratings and leads her challenger by double digits across major policy issues such as the cost of living, healthcare, education, and abortion.
However, poll co-director Raymond La Raja points out that Minogue faces a distinct political hurdle: more than 8 million—or over 8 in 10—voters place him in the same policy camp as Donald Trump across issues like abortion and taxes. Being closely tied to an unpopular president presents a steep challenge in a state where Trump lost by more than 25 points, leaving many voters to define Minogue by the national Republican brand rather than his own terms.
“Candidates are supposed to focus on the issues on which voters trust them most,” Theodoridis says. “That puts Minogue in a tough spot and gives Healey a lot of options, because voters trust Healey over Minogue by 20 to 30 points on all of the issues we asked about—from abortion (+31) and education (+29) to health care (+26) and even immigration (+23) and crime (+20).”
