Massachusetts voters weighing stark choice for governor

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The election pits Democrat Maura Healey, who would be the state's first woman and first openly gay candidate elected governor, against Republican Geoff Diehl, a former state representative who was endorsed by Donald Trump. Healey has also said she would protect “access to safe and legal abortion in Massachusetts” in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Healey warned Diehl would “bring Trumpism to Massachusetts.” The two have split on whether the state should repeal the new law giving those in the country illegally the ability to obtain Massachusetts drivers licenses. Healey said she would protect access to abortion, while Diehl, who hailed the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, said his job would be “to protect people’s health care choices.” If she wins, Healey — elected eight years ago as the nation’s first openly gay attorney general — would also snap the “curse of the attorney general.” Since 1958, six former Massachusetts attorneys general have sought the governor’s office.