2022 Massachusetts Attorney General election explained

Election Name:	2022 Massachusetts Attorney General election
Country:	Massachusetts
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	2018 Massachusetts Attorney General election
Previous Year:	2018
Next Election:	2026 Massachusetts Attorney General election
Next Year:	2026
Election Date:	November 8, 2022
Image1:	AJC Headshot (3x4).jpg
Nominee1:	Andrea Campbell
Party1:	Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:	1,539,624
Percentage1:	62.8%
Nominee2:	Jay McMahon
Party2:	Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:	908,608
Percentage2:	37.1%
Attorney General
Before Election:	Maura Healey
Before Party:	Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:	Andrea Campbell
After Party:	Democratic Party (United States)

The 2022 Massachusetts Attorney General election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the next attorney general of Massachusetts. Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey was eligible to seek a third term, but instead announced she would run for governor.^{[1] [2]}

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Andrea Campbell, former president of the Boston City Council and candidate for mayor of Boston in 2021^[3]

Eliminated in primary

• Shannon Liss-Riordan, labor attorney and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2020^[4]

Withdrew

• Quentin Palfrey, former deputy general counsel at the U.S. Department of Commerce and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2018 (endorsed Campbell; remained on ballot)^[5]

Declined

• Maura Healey, Massachusetts attorney general (2015–2023) (running for governor)^[6]
• Jon Mitchell, mayor of New Bedford^[7]
• Marian Ryan, Middlesex County district attorney (running for reelection)^[8]

Debates

2022 Massachusetts Attorney General Democratic primary debates

	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Democratic	Democratic	Democratic
Key: Participant  Absent  Not invited  Invited Withdrawn
					Andrea Campbell	Shannon Liss-Riordan	Quentin Palfrey
1	Aug. 1, 2022	WGBH-TV	Jim Braude	YouTube
2^[9]	Aug. 10, 2022	WBUR-FM The Boston Globe WCVB-TV	Tiziana Dearing Sharman Sacheti	YouTube

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Andrea Campbell	Shannon	Quentin Palfrey	Other	Undecided
UMass Amherst	August 26–29, 2022	500 (LV)	± 5.1%	28%		29%	11%	1%		31%
UMass Lowell	August 16–25, 2022	800 (LV)	± 3.9%		32%	30%	11%	2%	25%
Advantage, Inc. (R)	August 22–23, 2022	563 (LV)	± 4.1%		25%	20%	5%	–		49%
MassINC Polling Group (D)	August 19–21, 2022	401 (LV)	± 4.9%		28%	26%	10%	2%		32%
MassINC Polling Group	August 5–9, 2022	520 (LV)	± 5.1%		24%	16%	4%	4%		50%
UMass Amherst	June 15–21, 2022	557 (LV)	± 4.7%		21%	11%	9%	0%		59%
MassINC Polling Group (D)	June 2022	– (LV)	–		24%	6%	12%	4%		50%
UMass Lowell	April 2–11, 2022	800 (LV)	± 3.9%		30%	11%	6%	2%		52%
MassINC Polling Group (D)	January 18–20, 2022	310 (LV)	± 5.6%		31%	3%	2%	2%		54%

Results

Primary

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jay McMahon, Bourne attorney and nominee for attorney general in 2018^{[10] [11]}

Declined

• Andrew Lelling, former U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts^[12]

Results

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
align=left	Sabato's Crystal Ball^[13]		September 14, 2022
Elections Daily^[14]		November 1, 2022

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Andrea Campbell (D)	James McMahon (R)	Other	Undecided
UMass Amherst/YouGov	October 20–26, 2022	700 (RV)	± 4.3%		58%	33%	1%	7%
UMass Lowell/YouGov	October 18–25, 2022	1,000 (LV)	± 4.1%		55%	28%	–	16%
Suffolk University	October 13–16, 2022	500 (LV)	± 4.4%		50%	30%	1%	19%
Suffolk University	September 10–13, 2022	500 (RV)	± 4.4%		50%	24%	1%	25%

Results

Notes

Partisan clients

External links

• Andrea Campbell (D) for Attorney General
• Jay McMahon (R) for Attorney General
• Shannon Liss-Riordan (D) for Attorney General
• Quentin Palfrey (D) for Attorney General

Notes and References

1. Web site: Hanson . Melissa . Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey says decision on run for governor will come soon, focuses on Baker's accomplishments . www.masslive.com . 29 December 2021 . 2 December 2021.
2. Web site: Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey telling allies she's running for governor. Matt. Stout. Emma. Platoff. Boston Globe. January 19, 2022.
3. News: Andrea Campbell Enters Massachusetts Attorney General's Race. CBS Boston. 2 January 2022. 2 January 2022.
4. Web site: Kuznitz . Alison . 'I'm ready to be Massachusetts' champion': Shannon Liss-Riordan announces AG bid . www.masslive.com . . 25 January 2022 . 25 January 2022.
5. Web site: Quentin Palfrey drops out of Massachusetts attorney general race, endorses Andrea Campbell. August 30, 2022. August 30, 2022. WCVB.
6. Web site: Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey telling allies she's running for governor. Matt. Stout. Emma. Platoff. Boston Globe.
7. News: New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell makes his decision about running for governor or attorney general. Roy. Linda. 28 January 2022. 28 January 2022. southcoasttoday.com. The Standard-Times.
8. News: Marian Ryan to run for reelection as Middlesex district attorney; will not seek attorney general's seat. 27 January 2022. 28 January 2022. Stout. Matt. The Boston Globe.
9. Web site: WATCH: Democrats in attorney general primary race debate . . 12 September 2022 . 10 August 2022.
10. Web site: Cape Attorney, Republican Running For AG. March 1, 2022. March 1, 2022. The Patch.
11. Web site: MassGOP introduces McMahon as candidate for attorney general . 2022-03-02 . www.wbur.org . en.
12. Web site: Kashinsky . Lisa . Campbell launches AG bid . www.politico.com . . 7 April 2022 . 2 February 2022 . Former U.S. attorney for Massachusetts Andrew Lelling won’t be running for governor or attorney general this year, despite fielding calls from Republicans encouraging him to seek either seat.
13. Web site: The Attorneys General: A Dozen Races Dot the Competitive Landscape . Sabato's Crystal Ball . September 14, 2022 . September 15, 2022.
14. Web site: Elections Daily Secretary of State Ratings . Solomon . Zack . Elections Daily . November 7, 2022 . November 29, 2022.