Overview
- The Republican primary between Mike Minogue and Brian Shortsleeve is taking place Tuesday, Sept. 1, with polls open statewide from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and results updating after polls close.
- Shortsleeve positions himself as a pro-choice Republican who supports large tax cuts — including a 4% personal income tax and a 5% sales tax — and says he would cooperate with federal immigration authorities to transfer criminal noncitizens from local custody.
- Minogue, who has the formal backing of the Massachusetts GOP, has focused on fiscal restraint and would hire a third-party outside auditor to review the state budget and health-care spending; his campaign declined Boston.com’s candidate Q&A.
- Both campaigns and Gov. Maura Healey intensified last-minute voter outreach over the weekend as the primary nears, with Healey emphasizing transit improvements and law-enforcement cooperation in her messaging.
- The primary’s outcome will shape November’s contest and the campaign themes voters hear most often, with affordability and out-migration in Massachusetts central to both Republican platforms and likely Democratic attack lines.