Bronze Star veteran launches GOP campaign for Massachusetts governor

When reflecting on his career, Mike Minogue highlights that he’s gone from “soldier to CEO.”

Now, the Republican combat veteran and business executive has a new mission as he declares his candidacy for governor in deep blue Massachusetts, where Democratic Gov. Maura Healey is running for re-election next year.

In a campaign launch video first shared with Fox News on Wednesday, Minogue said that “working people have been left behind” and that Massachusetts’ “current one-party system isn’t working. What we need is a new kind of public servant.”

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“I’m running to be a new kind of governor, one with the faith, the heart, and the grit to serve,” Minogue announced.

Minogue is a West Point graduate and Airborne Ranger who was awarded a Bronze Star during his service in Operation Desert Storm in the 1991 Gulf War.

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He noted that his military career “carried me home to Massachusetts, where I became the CEO of Abiomed for 19 years, a public company that built the world’s smallest heart pumps.”

And the husband and father of five emphasized, “I’ve spent my life running towards problems and fixing them, to make a big difference.”

According to a release from his campaign, Minogue’s agenda is focused “on restoring affordability, accountability, and opportunity in Massachusetts. His focus includes lowering taxes, so families can keep more of their paycheck, growing the economy by retaining and recruiting businesses, and investing in education while giving parents more options for their students’ success.”

Minogue becomes the third major Republican candidate in the race, following former Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Mike Kennealy and Brian Shortsleeve, former chief administrator and acting general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

In the Democratic Party nomination race, Healey is facing a long-shot primary challenge from criminal justice advocate Andrea James.

While Democrats dominate federal elections and state legislative contests in Massachusetts, Republicans have had plenty of success in gubernatorial showdowns.

Before Healey’s victory in 2022, Republicans had won six of the eight previous elections for governor in the Bay State.