Trump-endorsed candidate Geoff Diehl won the Massachusetts Republican gubernatorial primary on Tuesday, beating out Republican opponent Chris Doughty.
The Bay State's governor's mansion is expected to switch back to Democrat control after centrist Republican Gov. Charlie Baker declined to run for another term, but Diehl's advancement to the general election serves as an important bellwether of Trump's remaining influence over this year's midterms.
During the 2020 election, Trump only won 32% of the vote in the Bay State.
While Republicans have represented the state numerous times as governor, from Bill Weld to now-Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) they have traditionally found more success running on more centrist platforms. Ultimately, Diehl's more rightward stance is not expected to do him any favors in November.
Diehl previously served as a co-chairman of Mr. Trump's 2016 primary campaign in Massachusetts and adopted a number of positions common to Trump partisans, including questioning the results of the 2020 election.
The GOP candidate selected Leah Cole Allen, a former state legislator who was fired from her job as a nurse after refusing to be vaccinated for the coronavirus, as his choice for lieutenant governor. However, the two offices are listed separately on Massachusetts ballots.
Diehl will face Mass. Attorney General Maura Healey, who was uncontested in her own primary, in the general election.
The latest FiveThirtyEight forecast reports Healy is “highly favored” to win. A separate poll by Suffolk University paints a similarly grim picture for the Republican, showing Healy with a 31-point lead over Diehl.
Diehl, a former state representative, has yet to hold statewide office. In 2018, he ultimately lost a challenge to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) by a wide margin, a race in which he also had Trump's endorsement.
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