“I looked at the numbers on each side,” Chang-Diaz said. “Unfortunately, there is no way I can lead my supporters responsibly, which leads to me becoming governor this year.
Secretary of State William F. Galvin said the deadline for withdrawing candidates from the ballot expired weeks ago, meaning Chang-Diaz’s name would remain with voters in the Sept. 6 primary, despite her decision Thursday.
However, her announcement surprised some who followed her campaign, and her departure created one of the strangest contests for governor of Massachusetts in memory. This frees Healy to run virtually unencumbered until at least early September, when she will then win one of the two Republicans – both of whom she leads with gaping margins in the public election – in the November election.
Asked if he would support Healy, Chang-Diaz declined to answer.
“I am focusing my energy on these candidates,” she said, citing a list of non-voting candidates she supported. “I will support the Democratic nominees in this race. No question. In the primary, I will vote for myself because I think I am the best choice for governor. “
Chang-Diaz delivered her statement to an early education center in Jamaica Plain, where she was joined by her husband, children and father, as well as many supporters, including selected staff and candidates who supported her. She had huddled with several supporters at a virtual meeting earlier Thursday to tell them about her plans.
When she dropped out, she said she intends to refocus her efforts on supporting a number of other progressive candidates, including state candidates Vivian Birchel, Raul Fernandez and Sam Montagno, and two district attorneys: Ricardo Arroyo, who is running for Suffolk Cafiou. Rahsan Hall, who is running in Plymouth County.
Chang-Diaz said she would be “open” to supporting other candidates from across the state, but did not approve a single Thursday.
She was removed in less than three weeks from the Democratic Party’s congressional vote, where she won less than 30 percent of the party’s delegate support and finished well behind Healy.
That same week, U.S. Senate President Karen E. Spilka – who once stripped Chang-Diaz of her longtime role as co-chair of the legislature’s education committee – threw support behind Healy, who topped the polls with $ 5.2 million. a military chest and widespread recognition of the name, built on two victories across the country.
In a statement, Healy said she was grateful for Chang-Diaz’s work as an elected official and as a candidate for governor.
“The legacy of her campaign will live on through the young girls who have finally seen themselves as candidates for the highest post in the state,” the South End Democrat said. “I look forward to continuing to partner with Senator Chang-Diaz to unite the people and make Massachusetts work for all our families.
Chang-Diaz, a seven-term senator, drafted a campaign message about promises to make changes in seismic policy: It supports free public transport and a government-funded single-pay healthcare system. It promotes a “green new course” at the state level.
A longtime advocate for balancing school funding, she has also run with political outsiders despite her long tenure at Beacon Hill, stressing her willingness to stand up to Democratic State House leaders, even when it costs her politically.
She spoke several times about her removal from the education commission after failing to reach an agreement on a large-scale bill to fund schools in 2018, saying she “holds the line” of negotiations and ultimately helped bring about a merger of 1 , $ 5 billion in state schools over several years.
“Stand up for what you really believe in,” she urged congressional delegates this month. “Vote for action, not just words.”
Fernandez, a Brooklyn Democrat who was backed by Chang-Diaz in his race for the House of State, said he resonated with her message that progressive ideas like his could not be pushed aside. His support does not stop with the end of her term as governor, he said.
“She is my candidate. “From the moment she announced, I was all-in,” he said. “I didn’t know who else would run, and honestly, I didn’t care. I will still vote for September 6, no doubt.
The senator currently chairs legislative committees on cannabis policy and racial justice and was a lead negotiator on a police omnibus liability law passed in late 2020.
She won her seat in the Senate when she defeated incumbent Diane Wilkerson in the 2008 Democratic primary before winning the seat in November.
But she has long struggled to attract attention in the gubernatorial race, initially overshadowed by questions about whether Gov. Charlie Baker will run for re-election (he is not), and then by Healy’s entry into the race in January.
She tried unsuccessfully to put pressure on Healy in a series of debates before Congress. A survey in April found she was 45 percentage points behind the Attorney General, and by the time she entered the DCU center in Worcester this month, her campaign had spent more than she had in months.
She has always been an outsider. “I don’t think there has been a political endeavor in 13 years or more in which I have not been an outsider,” she told the Globe last month.
But in deep blue Massachusetts, where the Democrat bench has long worked with ambitious candidates, her decision has created a scenario almost unthinkable just months ago: Republicans, not Democrats, will have to fight in the contested primary for a chance to open a governor’s seat.
Jeff Deal, a former lawmaker backed by former President Donald Trump, and Chris Dauty, a Rentham businessman and first-time candidate, are vying for the Republican ticket. A Suffolk / Boston University study from the end of April showed that Healy has a lead of 27 and 30 points, respectively.
In a statement Thursday, Deal said the senator’s departure from the race “makes it now a clear competition between my vision to make Massachusetts a better place to live and work and Maura Healy’s policy of making more families and businesses leave our country.” in search of better opportunities elsewhere. “
In a statement, Dauti accused Healy of removing Chang-Diaz from the race, so “Democrat voters have no choice.”
“We believe that voters should have the choice of elections, not coronations,” Dauti said.
You can contact Matt Stout at matt.stout@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @mattpstout. You can contact Samantha J. Gross to samantha.gross@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @samanthajgross.
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