She has positioned herself because the firebrand reformer of Beacon Hill, and could possibly be able to problem incumbent Gov. Maura Healey subsequent 12 months – organising a titanic battle of prime Democrats.
It’s an open secret that supporters of State Auditor Diana DiZoglio are urging her to run for governor in 2026, so she may as nicely personal it and make the leap now.
It’s not too early for DiZoglio to begin elevating funds and announce her intention to tackle a weakened Healey for the soul of the Democratic Social gathering. Healey appears preoccupied with being a nationwide progressive chief and appears primed for a shock problem from inside Massachusetts and her personal social gathering.
DiZoglio ought to now shift the highlight from the Legislature, the place she’s been waging a dropping battle to audit lawmakers, to the Nook Workplace and Healey’s seat.
DiZoglio can be the anti-Healey, a feisty liberal populist who has already received the hearts and minds of voters, who overwhelmingly backed her bid to audit the Legislature. However the weak Massachusetts courts won’t ever permit DiZoglio to finish her audit.
Nonetheless, it could be a successful challenge for the primary time period auditor. Healey has sadly been a pushover to Home and Senate Democrats, hardly ever difficult them on fiscal points or sizzling button matters just like the migrant disaster.
The Democratic governor’s preliminary failure to get management of the migrants streaming into the sanctuary state led to a spiraling finances disaster that’s nonetheless costing the state’s taxpayers billions.
One other challenge DiZoglio might exploit is the dearth of transparency by the Healey administration, which has been dragging its ft on releasing paperwork and emails on controversial matters like migrant shelter spending.
DiZoglio would come into the governor’s race already battle examined. Lawmakers and the media have been attempting to lob lame grenades at her for the final two years, however they’ve all fizzled.
There’s some precedent for a DiZoglio marketing campaign for governor. Democratic main challenges of incumbent governors usually are not unprecedented in Massachusetts.
In 1964, then-Lt. Gov. Frank Bellotti defeated incumbent Gov. Endicott Peabody within the Democratic main. Bellotti did lose the overall election to Republican John Volpe.
Democrat Ed King, working as a fiscal and social conservative, knocked off incumbent Democratic Gov. Michael Dukakis in 1978.
Dukakis later took again the governor’s seat from King in 1982 and received once more in 1986 earlier than successful the Democratic nomination for president of the USA in 1988.
A DiZoglio-Healey match can be paying homage to the previous Dukakis-King fights, pitting a reformer in opposition to a politically broken Democratic incumbent.
Whoever wins the 2026 Democratic main would nonetheless need to face a Republican within the common election, however would seemingly be a heavy favourite.
If DiZoglio might by some means knock off Healey, she can be a large killer who would go into the November election with an enormous head of steam.
And as governor, she would wield energy that her nemesis, Senate President Karen Spilka, might solely want for.
