MA voters support stronger AI safety: AI safety requires transparency and accountability. A new poll shows that 75% of Massachusetts voters support requiring the largest AI companies to publish safety plans, report serious incidents, and face penalties for non-compliance. — See the poll.
One of the animating questions in 2000s presidential politics was which candidate you’d rather have a beer with. In this year’s Massachusetts governor’s race, maybe the analogue is who you’d join for a large iced regular.
Gov. Maura Healey has long been a fan of a Dunkin’ reference.
There was the 2024 Saint Patrick's Day breakfast where she and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll donned orange-and-pink tracksuits as "DunQueens" in a send-up of the Super Bowl ad featuring Boston buds Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.
And, this past March, Healey made national headlines with her "Come and Take It" clapback as U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. targeted Dunks’ drinks over their sugar content. The New York Post, at the time, dubbed her “the Masshole in Chief.”
As he tries to take over that title, Mike Minogue is also leaning in on the local icon. The Hamilton Republican’s campaign shop features t-shirts (along with others riffing on a Zyn tin and the Market Basket logo) designed after the Dunkin’ branding, mimicking the font and colors but with the slogan “MA Needs A New Governor.”
It's like Minogue himself said in a June video marking National Donut Day: "I found something that Democrats, independents and Republicans can all agree on, besides doing the audit: love for Dunkin' Donuts." (That audit point, of course, being a bit more contentious on Beacon Hill...)
Of course, there aren’t many voters out there making their pick based on whether a gubernatorial candidate shows the proper respect for the commonwealth’s official donut (Boston crème). But the relatability question can pop up in campaigns (remember John Kerry ordering his Philly cheesesteak with Swiss cheese in 2003?), and tapping into a piece of regional identity is one way to try to create a viral moment that could bring more eyeballs to a candidate’s message.
When it comes to their campaign spending, Minogue and Healey are only putting a little bit of their money where their Munchkins are. Office of Campaign and Political Finance records from 2026 show one Dunks run charged to Healey's account, a $54.71 meeting with supporters in New Bedford. The Minogue camp spent a combined $250.54 across three visits to Dunkin locations in Burlington, Boston and Gloucester.
Neither Healey or Minogue, for what it’s worth, reported any spending this year at Starbucks.
Thanks to everyone who wrote in with answers to yesterday’s trivia question, all correctly guessing Dennis Democrat Chris Lambton. The HGTV host and season six Bachelorette contestant won his primary in the 1st Barnstable House district. Send me your favorite lawmaker (and candidate) fun facts at [email protected].
A Home Energy Assessment can connect homeowners, renters and landlords with a specialist to find energy-saving opportunities in your home and connect you with rebates to help make improvements. Income-eligible options are also available — Learn more.
HAPPENING TODAY
9:00 | Mayor Wu and Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper join the BPS Re-Engagement Center to thank volunteers and then knock doors to engage families and encourage students with a history of chronic absenteeism to return to school | Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building, 2300 Washington St, Roxbury
1:30 | Gov. Healey joins state and union officials to break ground on the North Station Draw One Bridge Replacement project. Transportation Secretary and MBTA General Manager Eng, MBTA Board Chairman McGee, Chair of House Ways & Means Michlewitz, Sen. Edwards, and Reps. Ryan and Bowen will join | Nashua Street Park, behind 125 Nashua Street, Boston
5:00 | Lt. Gov. Driscoll gives remarks at the 42nd Annual Gloucester Schooner Festival Opening Reception and then visits the Gloucester Main Street Block Party | Maritime Gloucester, 23 Harbor Loop, Gloucester
7:00 | Auditor Diana DiZoglio speaks at the Central Mass. AFL-CIO Labor Day Dinner | The Manor, 42 W. Boylston St., West Boylston
…Deadline for campaigns backing or opposing statewide ballot questions to file 60-day reports with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance. Ballot question committee did not have to report on their finances between Jan. 20 and September. After Friday, which marks 60 days until the Nov. 3 general election, ballot committees must file reports on the 5th and 20th days of each month leading up to the election...
JOB BOARD
Project Manager, District Services — NEW! Longwood Collective
Chief Financial Officer, Bristol County Sheriff's Office
Housing and Human Services Policy Analyst, Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center
Government and Community Affairs Division Chief, Mass Gaming Commission
Senior Legal Counsel, Office of the Child Advocate
Marketing and Communications Manager, St. Francis House
Job board continues below the fold — post a job
FROM BEACON HILL
RECOUNT WATCH: Sen. Will Brownsberger and his challenger Daniel Lander both pulled petitions for recounts in their razor-thin race. Two South Coast Democrats, Edward Pacheco and Stephen Medeiros, are also pursuing a recount in their primary fight for the seat held by outgoing Rep. Chris Markey. | State House News Service (gift link)
2028 APPROACHES: Gov. Maura Healey has said abortion is on the ballot this year, but Massachusetts Family Action is working to officially get it on the 2028 ballot. The group filed initial paperwork in a bid to put a question before voters repealing a recent state law making it easier to get an abortion later in pregnancy. | Boston Globe
Massachusetts lawmakers passed energy bills (S.3166 and H.5175) this year to lower electricity costs through measures like modernized residential solar permitting and flexible interconnection. As lawmakers negotiate the final bill language, they should be wary of an under-the-radar provision that risks undermining the bill’s positive reforms. Learn more about how fixed charges raise electricity bills here.
NEWS NEXT DOOR
SORTING THE MAIL: Federal Judge Indira Talwani questioned the Trump administration during a Boston hearing about whether the U.S. Postal Service can implement the president's plan restricting mail-in ballots, saying it felt like the government is running an experiment to see if the system will work. | Associated Press
REDESIGN REVAMP: Boston and MBTA officials plan four community meetings on a reworked plan for the reconstruction of Blue Hill Avenue. The new proposal preserves a controversial center bus lane and scales back bike lanes to one side of the street to free up space for more parking and vehicle travel. | Dorchester Reporter
SPRINT TO NOVEMBER: The general election race is on in the Sixth Congressional District, with Republican Micah Jones issuing a debate challenge and Democratic nominee Dan Koh expected to appear at a Lynn event with Sen. Elizabeth Warren Saturday. | Eagle-Tribune
LEGAL GAMBLE: The city of Springfield argues that MGM has not lived up to its promises, in a lawsuit the company calls "frivolous" as it looks to sell the resort casino to a Canadian firm. | The Republican
LAND WAR: Nahant won its eight-year battle with Northeastern University over an expansion of a science center. The Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the tiny North Shore town had a right to seize land Northeastern had owned for decades and preserve it for conservation. | CommonWealth Beacon
RESOLUTE DISPUTE: A judge heard motions last week in a case seeking to overturn a Northampton City Council resolution urging the city to divest from assets identified as linked to Israel. The resolution is non-binding and the local government has taken no steps to implement it, but the plaintiffs say it's an overstep into foreign policy. | Western Mass. Politics & Insight
We are proud to celebrate the recognition of Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital as #1 and #2 in Psychiatry in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Thank you to our entire Mass General Brigham team for their daily dedication to serving our patients — Learn more.
MORE HEADLINES
THE SUNDAY SHOWS
KELLER AT LARGE: 8:30 a.m., WBZ-TV. Political analyst Jon Keller talks primary winners and losers with WBUR senior politics reporter Gin Dumcius and MASSterList editor Katie Lannan.
@ ISSUE: 9:30 a.m., NBC 10. Reporter Matt Prichard’s guest is U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
ON THE RECORD: 11 a.m., WCVB. NewsCenter 5 anchor Ed Harding and political reporter Sharman Sacchetti sit down with Republican U.S. Senate candidate John Deaton.
JOB BOARD
Assistant Environmental Planner, City of Newton
Capital Projects & Procurement Manager, MetroWest Regional Transit Authority
Director of Centralized Project Development, University of Massachusetts Amherst Donahue Institute
Hellman and Simons Fellow for Science, Engineering, & Technology, American Academy of Arts & Sciences
Enforcement Counsel, Mass Gaming Commission
Chief of Staff, Massachusetts Office of the Child Advocate
Information Technology Director, Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General
Instructor, Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General
Payroll and Benefits Manager, City of Fitchburg
MLRI Senior Economic Justice Attorney, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
MLRI Economic Justice Attorney Safety Net Programs, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
Project Manager, Elephant Energy
Public Service Coordinator, University of Massachusetts Boston
Vice President for Ocean Conservation, Conservation Law Foundation
Lead Organizer / VISTA and Civic Engagement Project Coordinator, Mass Alliance of HUD Tenants
Senior Government Relations Specialist, Boston Children’s Hospital
Grants and Development Specialist II, Metropolitan Area Planning Council
