Diehl, Healey hit campaign trail in Mass. Governor's race
BOSTON - The race is on to the November general election and the choice between Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey and Republican former state lawmaker Geoff Diehl couldn't be more stark.
"We want to bring people together not tear people apart. Geoff Diehl is about tearing people apart," said Healey as she toured a marketplace in Worcester with new running mate, Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll.
Diehl is the Trump-backed candidate painting Maura Healey as a radical progressive. "Beacon Hill will pass a lot of extreme legislation if Maura Healey becomes Governor," said Diehl Wednesday in his first public appearance in West Roxbury after winning the primary.
Healey as Attorney General sued the Trump administration at least 100 times, and Wednesday she refused to take the bait. "The choice could not be more clear, we have an opponent who will bring Trumpism to Massachusetts."
Healey touted economic development, affordable housing and abortion rights, an issue at odds with Diehl and his running mate Leah Cole Allen who are also against vaccine mandates.
Diehl says Massachusetts needs another Republican in the corner office. "I'll be the check and balance to a very extreme liberal legislature," Diehl said.
Asked if she would be a moderate governor, Healey responded, "I'm going to be me, be the person I've been for eight years in the state listening to people and meeting them where they are."
Diehl's alignment with the former president may have helped with the conservative base in the primary but may now be more of a liability in the general election in a state that heavily rejected Trump.
As for Healey she cruised through an uncontested primary with a considerable war chest but insists she'll take nothing for granted. "Nobody is going to outwork Kim and me, I can tell you that," Healey said.
Diehl says he's not worried about Healey's campaign account. "I'm not bought by the special interests like Maura Healey," Diehl said.