Governor's race side by side: Healey, Minogue and James on taxes, energy bills, housing and schools

SOUTH COAST Three tickets for governor and lieutenant governor are on every South Coast ballot today, from New Bedford and Fall River to Taunton, Wareham and Plymouth, and the polls close at 8 p.m. Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, Democrats, are seeking a second term against Republican Mike Minogue and independent Andrea James and their running mates. Below, each ticket is set out on the same seven topics, in ballot order, with what each campaign has raised.

One vote covers both offices. The Secretary of the Commonwealth's candidate list puts the tickets in this order: Healey and Driscoll, Democratic; Minogue and Oliver, Republican; and James and Kittredge, Independent. Healey served two terms as attorney general and Driscoll was mayor of Salem, their campaign says. Minogue, an Army veteran, was CEO of the Danvers medical device company Abiomed for nearly 19 years, his campaign says. James founded Families for Justice as Healing, a criminal justice reform group, WBSM reported. Her running mate, Kayla Kittredge, has a committee on file with the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance; the James campaign site does not publish a biography of her.

Shawn Oliver, a New Bedford city councilor, suspended his campaign for lieutenant governor Oct. 18, and his name remains on the ballot on the Minogue and Oliver line, as SC360 has reported.

Healey and Minogue debated on WBZ-TV on Oct. 8 and on WCVB-TV on Oct. 15. James was not invited to either. WCVB told GBH News she "didn't meet the consortium's objective criteria," and James told State House News Service, "I earned my place on the ballot, and Massachusetts voters deserve to hear from all three of us," WBSM reported.

Taxes and Question 5

Healey's campaign site says she "cut taxes for the first time in more than 20 years, providing savings for families, seniors, and small businesses." She proposed cutting the state's 24-cent-a-gallon gas tax, WBUR reported Oct. 15, and a House committee later took her proposal to suspend the tax out of the supplemental state budget, the Plymouth Independent reported. Her campaign site does not address Question 5.

Minogue's blueprint calls for cutting taxes and spending "by eliminating waste and fraud with audits and prioritization" and for a gas tax holiday when gas prices reach more than $4 a gallon. It backs returning surplus revenue to taxpayers and says, "Ballot question number five supports taxpayer refunds."

James would tax "luxury real estate speculation and large corporate landlords" to help pay for housing, and her education page names "Fair Share revenue" as a school funding source, her campaign site says. It takes no position on Question 5.

What a yes or no vote does is in SC360's Question 5 explainer.

Energy and electric bills

Healey's campaign site says she "opposed utility rate increases and launched an Energy Affordability Agenda that will take $13 billion off your energy bills." At the Oct. 15 debate she said she had asked for federal help expanding existing gas lines and backs solar, wind, geothermal and hydroelectric projects, WBUR reported.

Minogue's blueprint would "cut state-mandated energy utility fees on day one, which represent a third of utility bills," add natural gas pipelines, evaluate modular nuclear power and cancel the state's Net Zero mandate. At the Oct. 15 debate he faulted Healey for blocking pipeline expansion, WBUR reported.

James' campaign site says she would "freeze rate increases through the Department of Public Utilities, audit utility profits, crack down on predatory suppliers, and move toward publicly owned power." Her home page says she would ban data centers and focus on "lowering utility costs."

Housing costs

"We have 100,000 homes coming online because I filed and signed the strongest housing law in the country," Healey said Oct. 8, State House News Service reported. On Oct. 15 she said she had cut permitting times from a year to 30 days and wants to double the 100,000 figure in a second term, NBC Boston reported.

Minogue's blueprint would end enforcement of the MBTA Communities Act and give cities and towns up to 35% to 40% of their tax dollars back, up from the 26% it says they keep now, if they drop the stretch building code and approve single-family permits in 45 days or less. "No one can live in 'underway,'" he told Healey Oct. 15, WBUR reported.

James' campaign site says she would declare a statewide housing emergency, create a Social Housing Authority, use state-owned land "to build tens of thousands of homes," support rent stabilization and tie state housing money to tenant protections, without cutting programs such as RAFT or housing vouchers.

Roads, bridges and rail

None of the three campaign sites mentions South Coast Rail, Route 24, Route 140, Interstate 195 or the Cape Cod Canal bridges by name. The Fall River/New Bedford Line, the first phase of South Coast Rail, opened to riders March 24, 2025, the MBTA's project page shows.

Healey's campaign site says she improved MBTA service "from 220 slow zones to zero."

Minogue's blueprint would "reduce Massachusetts' traffic problem by utilizing AI and creating digital maps, coordinated with traffic command centers."

James' campaign site does not address roads, bridges or rail.

Fishing, offshore wind and the New Bedford port

Healey marked the completion of Vineyard Wind 1 in New Bedford on June 24 and said the project will save Massachusetts families and businesses an estimated $1.4 billion on electric bills, CommonWealth Beacon reported. The same report said the marine terminal in New Bedford had not been able to secure tenants for future wind projects.

Minogue's blueprint pairs ending the Net Zero mandate with a focus on "energy innovation that would lower energy costs for our people and hospitals, stimulate manufacturing, and protect the ocean and our fishing industry." It does not mention offshore wind by name.

James' campaign site says she would declare a climate emergency, stop the expansion of fossil fuels, "accelerate the deployment of renewable energy" and create a Climate Jobs Corps. It does not address fishing or the port.

Schools money

Healey signed the fiscal 2027 state budget July 9 with $7,658,399,506 in Chapter 70 school aid, up $296,534,954, or 4.03%, with at least $160 more per student for every operating district, the state education department says. "A federal tax credit is not an education plan," she told Minogue Oct. 8, State House News Service reported.

Minogue's blueprint would opt into the federal scholarship tax credit, which it says would create "$1.7B in funding" for scholarships, expand charter, technical and vocational schools and appoint a new state education board. "You did put more money in, but the outcomes are worse," he told Healey Oct. 15, NBC Boston reported.

James' campaign site says she would expand K-12 community schools, invest in trade schools and work-study opportunities for high school students and make state colleges free. It says statewide test averages "can mask the significant differences in resources, opportunities, and outcomes across school districts" in Massachusetts.

Public safety

Asked at the Oct. 15 debate about a reported sexual assault inside the State Police barracks on Martha's Vineyard, Healey praised Col. Geoffrey Noble, whom she hired from outside the force. "Do things happen? Sometimes things happen. But I can tell you, he and I make sure swift action is taken," she said, WBUR reported. On federal immigration enforcement she said, "The problem is ICE. ICE is the public safety threat."

Minogue's blueprint would "end sanctuary state policies," put removing violent criminals and drug dealers first, end cashless bail and set mandatory jail time for violence against law enforcement. "My position is simple: I am anti-violent criminal and drug dealer," he said Oct. 8, State House News Service reported.

James' campaign site says she would end every agreement between state prisons and ICE, opposes a new women's prison and backs elder and medical parole and clemency. She believes the new PROTECT Act does not go far enough in limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, GBH News reported.

The sheriffs' request to change part of that law is in SC360's Oct. 28 story.

Campaign money

Each candidate for governor and for lieutenant governor has a separate committee that files monthly bank reports with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance. Minogue's and Oliver's newest reports run through Oct. 31 and were filed Nov. 2. The newest for Healey, Driscoll, James and Kittredge run through Sept. 30 and were filed Oct. 1 to Oct. 5, so the totals cover different dates, and the table labels each one.

Governor and lieutenant governor committees, 2026 totals to the end date of each newest bank report: Oct. 31 for Minogue and Oliver, Sept. 30 for the other four (Office of Campaign and Political Finance)

Committee	Totals run through	Raised in 2026	Spent in 2026	Cash on hand on that date
Healey Committee (governor), Democratic	Sept. 30 (filed Oct. 5)	$4,065,703	$5,319,799	$3,375,751 on Sept. 30
Driscoll Committee (lieutenant governor), Democratic	Sept. 30 (filed Oct. 4)	$1,655,302	$352,304	$2,901,729 on Sept. 30
Minogue Committee (governor), Republican	Oct. 31 (filed Nov. 2)	$15,927,386	$18,820,008	$852,467 on Oct. 31
Oliver Committee (lieutenant governor), Republican	Oct. 31 (filed Nov. 2)	$153,570	$173,849	$7,731 on Oct. 31
James Committee (governor), Independent	Sept. 30 (filed Oct. 2)	$32,332	$35,310	$2,813 on Sept. 30
Kittredge Committee (lieutenant governor), Independent	Sept. 30 (filed Oct. 1)	$20	$0	$20 on Sept. 30

Where to vote today

Polls are open until 8 p.m. Find your polling place in SC360's where to vote guide, see every race and question on your town's ballot in the town by town ballot guide and check what to bring in the Election Day guide. Unofficial results will post on the results page and in the SC360 Election Center after the polls close.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.