BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll made their first campaign stops of the general election on Wednesday with just 62 days until the incumbent Democratic governor’s matchup with Republican challenger Mike Minogue.

Healey and Driscoll first stopped at the Veterans Center of Fall River, touring the facility and speaking with supporters, before touring and speaking at local businesses in Plymouth. The stop in the south coast of Massachusetts signifies what could be an increasing influence the region is expected to have on the election.

“I think in this moment, in this time in our country, who your governor is really matters. It really matters. We’re going to have an election in 62 days. And there’s going to be a clear choice, okay? The bottom line is this: Kim and I stand with you. We stand with the people of Massachusetts,” Healey said to supporters in Fall River, before going on to continue pushing her primary campaign narrative: that she is the candidate who will fight against President Trump, while painting Minogue as a “rubber stamp” for Trump’s policies.

“Now we’ve got a president who seems to be taking us in the opposite direction on so many things, wrecking our economy, cutting off funding, taking away access to health care, all that sort of stuff,” she continued. “But our job is to control what we control here in the state of Massachusetts and that’s what Kim and I are set about doing. We’re going to need your help to get there and we ask for your support in this campaign.”

The campaign push came just hours after Minogue’s landslide victory in the GOP primary, where he took in 75.8% of the vote, according to the latest tally from The Associated Press.

Healey has been gearing her campaign for a November matchup against Minogue for months, framing Minogue as a supporter of the worst aspects of Trump’s nationwide illegal immigration crackdown, a supporter of all of Trump’s policies, and as someone who will reverse the state’s protections for abortion, if elected.

When asked by reporters why she continues to center her campaign on attacking Trump when Minogue is her opponent, Healey said that Trump “is (essentially) on the ballot.”

“To be clear, Trump is on the ballot. And I’ll tell you why. Every single day, the actions taken by the Trump administration hurt people around the country, but also hurt people in Massachusetts,” Healey said.

“Trump is very much on the ballot. One in three women in America live in a state right now that, because of Donald Trump and the Supreme Court that he’s stacked, reside in a place without any access to needed abortion care,” she continued, also including Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration and other policies. “So it is absolutely the case that you have somebody as president right now who is doing things that directly hurt the residents and the economy of Massachusetts and our businesses. And we need to make sure that there’s leadership always coming out of the corner office that’s going to protect our state.”

Minogue addressed Healey’s attacks and attempts to tie him to Trump during his victory speech Tuesday night, taking the angle that he is not a politician who will ultimately seek to divide the public to his favor.

“We are not politicians. We are people of principle and we believe in something bigger than ourselves. We don’t hate our neighbors. We are not political enemies. We don’t tear people down. We don’t look for someone to blame. That’s not who we are,” Minogue said to a packed room of supporters at the Great American Beer Hall in Medford.

“This is not what leadership is about. Leadership is about integrity, common sense, and compassion. Will choose division. They will choose to dishonestly attack me with political ads. And in fact, they have already begun,” he said.

The attack ads began when Healey launched a scathing television ad where she referred to Minogue as “MAGA Mike.” As reported by the Herald’s Peter Lucas, the ad cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and was paid for by Healey’s campaign and the Democratic State Committee.

Minogue, a self-made billionaire and first-time political candidate, brings decades of experience from the private sector as the former CEO of Abiomed – a successful medical technology acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 2022 – leading the company for nearly two decades.

Healey has used Minogue’s wealth for months to paint him in campaign emails as a Republican and Trump-backed billionaire who seeks to “buy the election.”

Healey challenged Minogue on Wednesday to two live, televised debates in the general election: one of which to be held October 8 on WBZ-TV and hosted by Jon Keller, with another October debate on WCVB–TV to be co-hosted by WBUR and the Boston Globe, in partnership with the Bay State Banner and El Planeta.

“Mike Minogue has already accepted three debates with Maura Healey, and called for another in Western Massachusetts. After years of watching Massachusetts families struggle with higher costs, crushing taxes, a housing crisis, and last-in the-nation job growth, Healey apparently needs an invitation to do the most basic part of the job: answer for her record,” a Minogue spokesperson told the Herald.

“Mike called on Maura Healey to debate months ago. The question is why it took her this long to show up. For him, and more importantly, for Massachusetts,” they said.

Driscoll has challenged GOP Lt. Gov. candidate Shawn Oliver to a general election debate as well.

Healey and Minogue will face off in the general election on Nov. 3.

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