2022 Massachusetts election results: Republican primary for governor (Geoff Diehl vs. Chris Doughty) | #republicans | #Alabama | #GOP

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Unlike the uncontested Democratic primary for governor, two GOP hopefuls jockeyed for the corner office: Geoff Diehl, a former state representative endorsed by former President Donald Trump, squared off against Chris Doughty, a political novice and Wrentham business owner.

Diehl, hewing closely to Trump’s rhetoric, has eschewed COVID-19 restrictions, particularly vaccine mandates rolled out by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Gov. Charlie Baker. Should he win, Diehl on his first day as governor said he intends to rehire all Executive Department employees — including those from State Police, MassDOT and the state Department of Correction — who lost their jobs over Baker’s vaccine requirement.

Baker, who in December announced he would not seek a third office, said he doesn’t intend to endorse a gubernatorial candidate for now, though he’s vocally campaigned for Anthony Amore, the Republican state auditor hopeful.

Diehl embarked on his “Berkshires to Boston Tour” in March, as he pledged to visit towns in every Massachusetts county on the campaign trail and meet with “as many people as possible.”

But he’s refrained from most live interactions with Doughty, aside from one debate on the Howie Carr Show in July. Doughty fired stinging missives in that face-to-face encounter, taunting Diehl for “running a campaign that’s targeted to Alabama voters and here we are in Massachusetts, so he’s going to lose.”

Doughty challenged Diehl to a slew of additional debates moderated through mainstream news outlets in the lead-up to Tuesday’s primary, though the Whitman Republican demurred, opting to instead appeal to likely voters on conservative radio shows. Diehl signaled that strategy would change for the general election, as he’s willing to debate Attorney General Maura Healey — the sole Democrat running for governor — at least three times.

“I debated Elizabeth Warren three times,” Diehl told recently told reporters in downtown Boston near City Hall, alluding to his failed 2018 U.S. Senate bid. “Three debates would be fine … or more. I’m happy to have as many as possible.”

Doughty, struggling to boost name recognition and chip away at Diehl’s commanding lead in recent public polls, held a blitz of media events recently, including a news conference outside Park Street station as he and running mate Kate Campanale unveiled their plan to overhaul the beleaguered MBTA. Echoing Baker’s brand of Republicanism, Doughty has struck a more moderate tone on the campaign trail as he’s pushed for a reinvigorated Massachusetts tourism industry, plus strategies to improve the cost of living and labor market throughout the commonwealth.

“We’re losing our economic competitiveness to New Hampshire, Tennessee, Florida — just these other states that are really competitive,” Doughty told MassLive in July. “We’re just not creating a business culture that’s going to be as competitive as so those other states. And I worry about that because that’s what causes systemic poverty. When you go to communities like Holyoke (and) Springfield that have lost so much of their industrial base, it’s worrisome.”

A late August poll from the conservative-aligned Fiscal Alliance Foundation found 42% of Republican primary voters would cast their ballots for Diehl, compared to 27% for Doughty and 31% who were still undecided.

Doughty’s running mate fared better than Diehl’s — both of whom are former state representatives — in a question about the GOP lieutenant governor’s race.

Poll results show 19% of voters favor Kate Campanale, compared to 13% for Leah Allen, who lost her nursing job after refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19. But 68% of voters are undecided about their preferred lieutenant governor candidate.

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