Voters in Massachusetts head to the polls today where the main race to watch is the state’s GOP gubernatorial primary. None of the state’s nine Democratic members of Congress are facing primary challengers, and none of those House districts are expected to be competitive in November.
GOP Gov. Charlie Baker is not running for re-election, making this race a prime pickup opportunity for Democrats. His retirement announcement came nearly two months after former President Donald Trump endorsed Geoff Diehl, a conservative former state legislator, in the GOP primary.
Diehl co-chaired Trump’s Massachusetts campaign in 2016 and ran unsuccessfully against Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren in 2018. Diehl also has the state party’s endorsement in the primary, where he’s facing a self-funding businessman Chris Doughty, who co-owns a manufacturing company.
Whoever wins the GOP primary will face Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey in November. Healey built a national profile suing the Trump administration over a wide range of issues and has proven to be a strong fundraiser.
Read more about the race on the Meet the Press Blog.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail:
New Hampshire Senate: The Senate Leadership Fund is placing a $23 million television advertising buy in New Hampshire today. The fall advertising will begin on 9/13 and run through Election Day targeting Senator Maggie Hassan. These will be the first New Hampshire advertisements of the 2022 cycle from the Senate Leadership Fund.
Pennsylvania Senate/Wisconsin Governor: Biden hit the campaign trail on Labor Day, appearing with Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in Wisconsin and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who is running for Senate, in Pennsylvania. Trump also traveled to the Keystone State for a rally on Saturday with Senate hopeful Mehmet Oz and state Sen. Doug Mastriano, who is running for governor.
Arizona Governor: Arizona Democrat Katie Hobbs’ campaign wants her and Republican Kari Lake to sit for separate interviews instead of a debate run by the Citizens Clean Election Commission and Arizona PBS.
New York Governor: Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul is up with a new negative ad against GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin, painting the congressman as “extreme and dangerous,” citing his objections to some states’ Electoral College votes after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and his views on abortion.
Florida Governor: While Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration arrested 20 people for voter fraud last month, activists claim they didn’t know they were committing crimes and that some were told by government officials they could vote.
Iowa-03: The National Republican Congressional Committee is up with a new ad that attacks Democratic Rep. Cindy Axne over last year’s Afghanistan withdrawal, while the Democratic House Majority PAC has a new ad criticizing Republican state Sen. Zach Nunn over support from a Chinese agribusiness PAC.
Oregon-04: Republican Alek Skarlatos is up with a new spot focused on a single mom who says rising costs have her feeling “forgotten” by Washington, while Democrat Val Hoyle is running a new ad hitting Skarlatos as too extreme on abortion rights.
