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by Chris Lisinski, CommonWealth Beacon
May 15, 2026
MOST MASSACHUSETTS VOTERS continue to feel disdain for President Trump, but they’re also not too high on a politician who has positioned herself as one of his primary adversaries: Gov. Maura Healey.
In a MassINC Polling Group survey conducted in March and released this week, 39 percent of voters view Healey favorably compared to 45 percent who view her unfavorably. Among those who are either registered Democrats or independents who lean left, 63 percent gave Healey a favorable review and 16 percent gave an unfavorable review.
The negative overall favorability result is not where an incumbent wants to be heading into a reelection race. By contrast, in May 2018, an MPG poll for WBUR found then-Gov. Charlie Baker with a net favorability rating of +58 points among all voters while running for reelection.
An Emerson College Polling survey conducted this month found 45 percent of voters view Healey favorably and 35 percent unfavorably — better margins for the governor than the MPG poll, but still a tepid showing, with less than a majority viewing her favorably. Add to that recent headlines that some environmental advocates and labor unions are dissatisfied with Healey’s first term, and it hasn’t been a great week for Healey’s campaign.
Don’t overread the tea leaves, though. The usual caveats apply: polls are just snapshots in time, and there’s an entire half-year of campaigning ahead. Former Gov. Deval Patrick, also a Democrat, looked like he was in trouble in his 2010 reelection race, but came surging back in the fall to defeat Republican challenger Charlie Baker (who, of course, won the corner office four years later).
Most importantly, lots of voters might still think Healey’s a better option than the Republican alternative come November. That could be especially true if she can succeed at centering Trump in the race. The president is underwater in Massachusetts by a nearly two-to-one margin, MPG found, with 61 percent viewing him unfavorably compared to only 31 percent favorably.
Cut taxes? It depends on how you ask
Speaking of polls, MPG’s new survey found that voters have pretty mutable feelings about a proposed income tax cut depending on how the measure is explained.
When pollsters described the business-backed measure as lowering the income tax rate from 5 percent to 4 percent by 2029, two-thirds of voters said they would vote yes and only one-quarter said they’d vote no. But the sentiment shifted significantly with a different description attached that deployed many of the arguments against the measure used by its opponents.
In a separate question, pollsters said experts estimate the tax cut “would cost state government $5 billion a year, forcing deep cuts to education, health care, and aid to cities and towns.” They also noted that “the wealthiest 1 percent would get back more than $30,000 on their taxes, while the bottom 80 percent would only get back a little more than $500.” With that information in mind, 40 percent of respondents said they’d vote yes and 50 percent said they’d vote no.
“Polling on ballot questions can be extremely volatile, with many voters open to changing their minds when given new information,” said MPG vice president Rich Parr. “If the income tax question goes before voters, this polling shows that what voters know about its full effects could have a dramatic impact on the outcome.”
The survey was commissioned by two advocacy groups, Transportation for Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Voter Table.
Indicted state rep not seeking reelection
It seems indicted state Rep. Chris Flanagan decided to head for the door before voters in his district got a chance to show it to him.
Flanagan, who was arrested last year on federal fraud charges, did not file signed nomination papers with any of the three town clerks in the First Barnstable District he represents by an April 28 deadline, guaranteeing he will not appear on the primary ballot in September when all legislative seats are up for grabs.
That means the Dennis Democrat will depart Beacon Hill when the term ends in January 2027, more than a year and a half after he pleaded not guilty to allegations that he siphoned money away from a former employer to cover debts and buy menswear, a Bluetooth speaker, and psychic services. (Flanagan did not respond to a CommonWealth Beacon inquiry Thursday.)
Things have only gotten worse for the second-term rep. Last week, federal prosecutors expanded their case against Flanagan, newly claiming that he stole thousands more dollars than listed in the original charges and that he underreported rental income.
Flanagan has remained in office despite the scrutiny and calls from some elected officials, including Gov. Maura Healey, for him to resign. His bosses in the House have stopped short of publicly urging Flanagan to leave, warning that it would be premature while the legal case against him unfolds.
By not seeking reelection, Flanagan is taking a different route than former rep. David Nangle, who was arrested in February 2020 on federal fraud charges, initially pleaded not guilty, and continued to seek another term. Nangle lost his primary that fall, then changed his plea to guilty the following year.
Three candidates filed signatures to vie for the seat Flanagan has held, according to local clerks: Chris Lambton, a Democrat who chairs the Dennis Select Board and is a former contestant on “The Bachelorette”; Steven Leibowitz, another Democrat, who sits on the Brewster School Committee; and unenrolled candidate Joe Glynn. It’s not yet clear if any of those three collected enough certified signatures to make the ballot.
Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly cited a 2016 poll about Gov. Baker's favorability ratings.
This article first appeared on CommonWealth Beacon and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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