So how did it all shake out? The results below were pulled from the Associated Press as of 11:15am on 11/9/22.

The votes in Massachusetts were largely cast along party lines in the blue state. That made for many uncompetitive, and in some cases uncontested, races.

In the races we watched, Republican chances were further hampered by a dearth of quality candidates – a phenomenon that’s not limited to the Bay State. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) downplayed the GOP’s chances for recapturing control of both the US House and Senate: “I think there’s probably a greater likelihood the House flips than the Senate. Senate races are just different — they're statewide, candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome.”

Reading between the lines, the quality of the Republican candidate pool was weakened by valuing loyalty to former President Trump as the first and most important factor. Trumpistas were not rewarded at the ballot box in Massachusetts, and Democrats enjoyed a more cake-y cakewalk than usual.

Election Results

Governor

Governor Baker (R) chose not to run again, though he enjoyed a good measure of popularity in a blue state that’s never shied away from electing a moderate Republican governor. Observers have speculated that he no longer jibed with the Trumpista direction of the Mass GOP and lacked the appetite for getting roughed up in the primary only to face the rising star of Maura Healey (D). Whatever the reason, Baker’s departure gave Geoff Diehl a relatively easy ride through the primary, only to get trounced in the general election. Republicans had their chance to vote for a more moderate candidate in Chris Doughty (R), but threw their lot in with the man who Trump promised would rule Massachusetts “with an iron fist.” Not this time.

Maura Healey (D) 1,401,882 votes 63.3%

Geoff Diehl (R) 777,446 votes 35.1%

Kevin Reed (I) 35,413 votes 1.6%

Secretary of State

Rayla Campbell (R) was one of a handful of laugher Trumpista candidates put forth by the Mass GOP. The radio talk show personality had no experience in politics, nor a record of public service of any type. But, oh boy, was she worried about the monstrous fabrication that the teachers of Massachusetts were (or wanted to?) teach children how to practice oral sex on one another! The longtime incumbent Bill Galvin (D) skated in the primary and trounced the Campbell in the general.

William Galvin (D) 1,465,604 votes 67.4%

Rayla Campbell (R) 645,527 votes 29.7%

Juan Sanchez (Green-Rainbow) 62,508 votes 2.9%

Attorney General

A historic race that elected Massachusetts’ first woman of color into the office of attorney general: Andrea Campbell (D). Campbell has been a Boston City Council member, a failed Boston Mayoral candidate, and now Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She faced a tough primary, beating quality opponent (with friends in high places) Shannon Liss-Riordan (D). James McMahon (R) never had a chance. That he grabbed 37.8% of the vote is a testament to how many votes party loyalty will get you. Not a landslide defeat, but not enough to compete.

Andrea Campbell (D) 1,349,395 votes 62.2%

James McMahon (R) 820,925 votes 37.8%

Auditor

Diana DiZoglio (D) scores a convincing win. She faced a tough primary against Chris Dempsey (D). The general election had the potential to go either way, in principle, but the Mass GOP seemed too disorganized to get behind its candidate. Gov. Baker, who had been laying low, surfaced to endorse Anthony Amore (R), which is not an effort he put forth for many Republican candidates this election cycle. In the end, it wasn’t enough.

Diana DiZoglio (D) 1,150,380 votes 54.8%

Anthony Amore (R) 799,360 votes 38.1%

Gloria Caballero-Roca (GRB) 59,942 votes 2.9%

Dominic Giannone (Workers Party) 45,983 votes 2.2%

Daniel Riek (Lib) 43,384 votes 2.1%

Governor’s Council District 4

Helene “Teddy” MacNeal is another laugher Trumpista candidate with no political experience. She didn’t surface in the race until about a month left to campaign, at which point she recorded a few Youtube clips to explain why her nickname was “Teddy.”

Christopher Iannella (D) 186,124 votes 71.3%

Helene MacNeal (R) 74,839 votes 28.7%

Massachusetts State House 15th Suffolk

Sam Montaño won a tough four-way primary, which is all the more impressive when you consider the candidate’s lack of experience in office. But the political newbie had solid experience working campaigns, community organizing, and a track record of public service. When it came time to give their pitches, out of all the candidates, Montaño’s pitch was far and away the most coherent and informed. Montaño could be a political talent to watch.

Sam Montano (D)

Uncontested Race

Massachusetts U.S. House District 7

Donnie Palmer (R) was yet another laugher Trumpista candidate fielded by the Mass GOP. It’s too generous to call the special education teacher and professional boxer a sacrificial lamb at the altar of the popular Ayanna Pressley (D). Sacrificial lambs get more votes.

Ayanna Pressley (D) 144,902 votes 84.5%

Donnie Palmer (R) 26,481 votes 15.5%

Massachusetts Treasurer

In Hump Day News’ election coverage, we erroneously reported that Deb Goldberg (D) was the sole candidate in an uncontested race. “It’s just Deb!” turned out to be incorrect. Below-the-radar Libertarian candidate made a late push to grab 23.4% of the vote. That’s not going to do it. Score it for Deb!

Deborah Goldberg (D) 1,505,224 votes 76.6%

Cristina Crawford (Lib) 461,101 votes 23.4%

Massachusetts Sheriff Suffolk County

Steven Tompkins (D) edged out Sandy Zamor-Calixte (D) in the primary and won an uncontested general election to keep the office he’s held since 2013.

Steven Tompkins (D)

Uncontested Race

Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Suffolk

Another uncontested race. Liz Miranda (D) did all her heavy lifting in the primary, scraping out a win in a tough five-way race over proven political commodities. Now she’s battle tested and ready to legislate.

Liz Miranda

Uncontested Race

District Attorney Suffolk County

Kevin Hayden (D) skates in an uncontested general election after coming out on top In one of the most controversial primaries in recent memory. Right before the primary election, a document mysteriously surfaced that recounted long since dismissed allegations against his opponent Ricard Arroyo (D). Hayden wins the race, but his path to victory comes with at least one asterisk.

Kevin Hayden (D)

Uncontested Race

Ballot Questions

Voters in Massachusetts had four binding ballot questions to ponder. Hump Day News provided an explainer and analysis for all four questions. Some results are too close to call at this time.

Massachusetts Question 1 - Create New Income Tax Level

The Millionaire’s Tax is too close to call. The majority of votes counted at this time favor increasing the tax rate on those with incomes above one million dollars.

Yes 1,117,049 votes 51.9%

No 1,034,667 votes 48.1%

Massachusetts Question 2 - Dental Medical Loss Ratio

This was one of the more perplexing ballot questions in terms of calculating the benefits and costs. So it’s interesting to see it decisively decided for Yes. At the end of the day the people of Massachusetts wanted to stick it to the insurance industry, whether or not the math is a little fuzzy.

Yes 1,511,544 votes 71.3%

No 609,458 votes 28.7%

Massachusetts Question 3 - Retail Alcohol License Limit

The Prostentant ethos of the Blue Laws Bay State rises again! Liquor stores lick their wounds to lobby another day.

No 1,163,955 votes 55.2%

Yes 945,444 votes 44.8%

Massachusetts Question 4 - Driver’s Licenses

Right now it’s looking like undocumented immigrants will be able to acquire driver’s licenses. The big brouhaha on this question came from the repeated and reckless distortion of the consequences of the policy by mostly Republican politicians who wanted to paint a ‘Yes’ vote as creating a pathway for registering undocumented immigrants as voters. Can we leave this proven lie behind us yet?

Yes 1,141,763 votes 53.5%

No 990,737 votes 46.5%