LEXINGTON, Mass. April 7, 2025 — In a campaign video titled “Let’s Get to Work,” Lexington, Mass. resident Mike Kennealy (R), announced his candidacy for Massachusetts governor against incumbent Maura Healey (D). In the video, Kennealy outlines his intention to focus on affordability, economic opportunity, and what he describes as rebuilding trust in state government.
Healey, a Democrat, has served as the 73rd governor of Massachusetts since January 2023. Prior to her election, she was the state’s attorney general from 2015 to 2023.
Kennealy has held roles in both the private sector and public service. He previously served as Secretary of Housing and Economic Development under former Gov. Charlie Baker and was involved in efforts to reopen the state’s economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to that, he was Assistant Secretary for Business Growth and a special advisor during the state-led turnaround of Lawrence Public Schools.
Kennealy also spent nearly two decades in private equity. According to the campaign, he was involved with firms that invested in more than 100 companies, many of them in Massachusetts.
More recently, he served as Senior Advisor and Chief Strategy Officer at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston, where he focused on academic and workforce development programs for youth in neighborhoods including Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, South Boston and Chelsea.
In the campaign video, Kennealy cited rising costs, educational shortcomings, and what he characterized as failures in the state’s transportation and migrant shelter systems as reasons for entering the race. “Our beacon on a hill has become a beacon in the rearview mirror,” he said. “I’m running for Governor because I believe in the unlimited potential of our state through the power of our people.”
Ben Hincher, campaign manager for Kennealy, said the candidate’s background in job creation and economic development distinguishes him from other contenders. Hincher criticized the administration of Gov. Maura Healey and said Kennealy represents “the only candidate who can defeat” her.
Healey began her public service career under former Attorney General Martha Coakley, serving as chief of the Civil Rights Division, where she led Massachusetts’ legal challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act. She later held leadership roles in the Public Protection and Advocacy Bureau and the Business and Labor Bureau before launching a successful campaign for attorney general in 2014. Healey was re-elected in 2018 and won the governorship in 2022.
