> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.newbostonpost.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Mike Minogue Says Governor's Race Is 'Neck and Neck' - URL: https://www.newbostonpost.com/mike-minogue-governors-race-neck-and-neck/ - Published: 2026-10-29T11:30:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-29T11:30:00.000Z - Description: Republican Mike Minogue insists his race against Gov. Maura Healey is close despite two recent polls showing him trailing by over 20 points. - Author: State House News Service - Tags: News, Politics, Mike Minogue, Massachusetts, #lead, #morning-bell, morning-bell, #4 Sam Drysdale and Ella Adams State House News Service Walking back to his car after spending the afternoon shaking hands in Boston's North End six days before Election Day, Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Minogue bent to tell a supporter, "Say your prayers, we're gonna win. God willing." The comment, made to a North End native named Dolly, echoed his rhetoric throughout the campaign stop — calling out to people on the street to vote early, not believe the polls that show him behind, and pray for a win against Democrat Gov. Maura Healey on Tuesday. "We're not down. It is close. It's neck and neck," Minogue told reporters outside of Saint Leonard of Port Maurice Parish on Hanover Street. "We are close. Everyone knows it. It's all about who wants it more, who's going to come out and vote. Our people have enthusiasm." Two recent polls show Minogue trailing Healey. Of respondents to a UMass Amherst / WCVB poll that surveyed voters Oct. 5 through Oct. 12, 56% said they would reelect Healey, while 31% supported Minogue, and 5% backed independent candidate Andrea James. In an Oct. 14 through Oct. 17 poll from The Boston Globe / Suffolk University, more than 58% of respondents said they'd favor reelecting Healey over Minogue, who earned 36% of respondents' backing. Shaking a firefighter's hand on Wednesday, Minogue leaned in and told him, "The playbook is the polls, convince them we can't win." Trailed by a posse of supporters and advisers, Minogue weaved between North End streets and into the neighborhood fire station, Post-Gazette office, and restaurants like My Mother's Cutlets and Dolce. He picked up an espresso at Caffe Vittoria after downing a pistachio-chocolate gelato swirl. While Minogue spent the afternoon in blue Boston, Healey was on the purple and reddening South Coast making a handful of public campaign appearances. Like Minogue, she encouraged people to vote early and again contrasted her agenda to Minogue's. "Around the state, I've seen a lot of people who have already voted, which I think is a good thing. There's certainly a lot on the line," Healey said in Attleboro. "There's a clear choice in this race in terms of this seat. I don't think it's mattered more than right now who your governor is. With Donald Trump around for another couple years, who your governor is really matters." Standing on the mall in front of the Paul Revere statue, Minogue explained his comment about the polls. "This is the playbook. They want people to believe that their vote doesn't count. That's why we want people to vote early," he said. "We feel very comfortable. We know it's a tight race, so does the opposition." Throughout the hour-plus he spent walking around the neighborhood, the candidate called out "vote early!" to passerbys and business owners. His message seemed to resonate with the roughly two dozen supporters who came out to see the candidate, donning light blue Mike Minogue-branded signs, hats and apparel. "Every vote counts. People got to vote," said Carla Gomes, owner of North End Italian restaurants including Terramia, Antico Forno, and Cantina Italiana. She was talking to another Minogue supporter on the neighborhood tour. Later, to the News Service, she said, "You never know. That day it could rain. The lines could be horrendously long, and then people see lines, they got to get back to work and they say, 'You know what? My vote doesn't count. I'm only one vote.' But if everybody says I'm only one vote, what ends up happening? So yeah, I do, I think early voting is key." Gomes said she supported Minogue because of his "conservative values" and warned against "all those Democrats" in the State House. In the historically Italian neighborhood, Minogue leaned into his Catholic identity — though he qualified that he is Irish Catholic. "I love being Irish, but we're terrible cooks. So dry. But I love Italian food. Love pasta. I'm glad I'm not celiac," he said. Minogue has campaigned on his faith, and although he is Catholic, has said he would uphold the state's abortion law. Healey has accused him of not protecting women's access to care and stood by her administration's expanded shield law meant to protect providers and patients. Several of Minogue supporters took issue with Healey's stance on abortion, specifically the law she signed in August that lifted restrictions on abortions after 24 weeks. "The abortion thing — forget about that," Minogue supporter Candy Oddi said. "It's a disgrace." She called Healey a hypocrite for signing the law and later walking in a feast in the North End. Healey walked in a procession during Saint Anthony's Feast on Aug. 28\. Asked why she was out supporting Minogue, North End local Angela Aquilino pointed to the abortion law that Healey signed, calling it "totally disgusting." Longtime neighborhood resident Anne Devlin Tagliaferro gifted Minogue a bottle of St. Anthony's oil, a Catholic devotional oil to invoke Saint Anthony of Padua, the patron saint of lost things, miracles and the poor. Several Minogue supporters who came out to the event wearing apparel and holding signs would not speak on the record. Some of them approached the candidate from the street. A shout of "hey governor!" came from a car rolling by as Minogue walked past, in which the driver promised "from my lips to God's ears" Minogue would be next in the corner office. A West Point graduate introduced himself to Minogue inside Dolce, saying he was on his way to pick up his dry cleaning. Minogue graduated from West Point and served as an Infantry officer in the U.S. Army. The Republican candidate spent a few minutes inside the historic North End restaurant speaking to prominent restaurateur, developer and "unofficial mayor" of the neighborhood, Frank DePasquale. DePasquale stood up from a table with a "reserved" sign on it, and Minogue quietly repeated some tested campaign rhetoric throughout their conversation. "This is the tipping point election," Minogue told DePasquale. "I've got five kids, I want them to stay here," and "We're building the American dream." Minogue and some of his supporters took issue with energy costs, blaming Healey for what are some of the highest energy prices in the country. Healey [spent part of Wednesday morning](https://www.statehousenews.com/news/environment/energy/healey-tells-seniors-with-high-energy-bills-i-see-you-ok/article%5F594b17ba-506d-4f1a-96b2-1f1f722f4234.html?ref=newbostonpost.com) at a senior center in Attleboro, where she spoke to seniors about steps she has taken to address high energy bills and how she understands the struggle. "It's a hard time right now," she said, adding that "it kills me" people are having to make decisions between things like using heat, buying groceries, or affording rent. "You know, you've got a fixed income, and the cost of everything's gone up. I see you, OK? I see you, and I want to do everything I can to help you. There's certain things I can control. There's certain things ... this is a time where we gotta, you know, prioritize around things, and I'm trying to do that," Healey continued. Healey has knocked the war in Iran's impact on energy prices and urged lawmakers to reach a compromise on a bill that could provide long-term energy savings for ratepayers. Oct. 30 is the last day voters can cast a ballot in-person ahead of Nov. 3\. Secretary of State William Galvin this week urged Bay Staters who are utilizing mail-in ballots to drop them off in ballot boxes in the days ahead to guarantee their ballot is delivered on time.