Incumbent Attorney General Maura Healey is set to debate Republican challenger Jay McMahon tonight on WGBH. The general election is now less than five weeks away. Mike Deehan, WGBH's state house reporter, spoke with All Things Considered anchor Barbara Howard before the debate to give a preview of what's expected. This transcript has been edited for clarity.
Barbara Howard: Healey, a Democrat, has been in office for four years now. Tell us about the challenger, Republican Jay McMahon.
Mike Deehan: You could say the Jay McMahon is the candidate that Healey — or Healey's campaign — preferred over the more moderate Baker-style Republican that ran against him, Dan Shores, who lost in the primary to McMahon. McMahon is from the Cape. He's an attorney. You could describe him as relentlessly Trumpian. So far. You'll probably hear a lot of praise from McMahon for President Trump tonight.
Howard: Well this debate is basically McMahon's introduction to the general election audience, so what do you think he wants voters to come away with tonight?
Deehan: I think this is his opportunity to pivot away from that GOP primary that he just fought into the general election and make himself a viable Republican candidate that independents — and maybe even some conservative Democrats — could vote for.
Howard: What are we likely to see as some distinctions between the candidates?
Deehan: I think you are going to see the biggest line of attack from McMahon is over Healey's enforcement of the state's gun control laws. That is something that played very well in the primary, but it would definitely have some residents in the general here. Basically, in 2016 Healey kind of — rather abruptly — began enforcing some aspects of the state's assault rifle ban that has not gone over well with the Second Amendment crowd. Healey will say that it had the desired effect — it took away these kind of copycat assault rifles that she thinks should have been illegal for the last 20 years and they're no longer sold. Gun rights activists say that there was an infringement of the Second Amendment and that they are very riled about this and it shows how Healey has been kind of overstepping the authority of the AG's office.
Howard: But Healey says it's been effective.
Deehan: She does. The aim here was to stop these copycat rifles, and she'll tell you that no one has been prosecuted under this order that she put forward, but it's still seen as a very stark symbol of how Healey has been using the office
Howard: McMahon says fighting the opioid crisis is the cornerstone of his campaign. So, where does he think Healey is falling short, and what are the solutions he's proposing?
Deehan: He has been proposing a phrase he's used a lot which is 'extreme prosecution.' He is a lawyer — he has been defense lawyer for a long time — a trial lawyer. He is not backing down from that he wants as much prosecution of drug crimes as possible. That is really at odds with where the state legislature Democrats even moderate Republicans, like Charlie Baker, are right now rescinding mandatory minimums and a lot of ways he is coming off at least that primary race as a 'lock them up throw away the key' type when it comes to the opioid crisis.
Howard: And I understand this crisis — it's kind of personal for McMahon.
Deehan: It is — that's another aspect of his campaign you're likely to hear — about how his son Joel became hooked on opiate painkillers from the Veterans Affairs Department when he was a vet and apparently turned to illegal drugs and addiction and actually lost his life through that addiction. McMahon has been pretty honest about that on the campaign trail. McMahon's almost a throwback to the war on drugs that we've seen over the last few decades, and really does tie the flow of illegal drugs to undocumented immigrants, more than Pharma — the way that Healey has been approaching the drug problem.
Howard: Well we've heard a lot about McMahon, but how about Maura Healey. What is she hoping to accomplish tonight?
Deehan: Well she's heavily favored. She's the incumbent Democrat in Massachusetts. She's very popular. Polls show that she has a considerable lead. Basically, she wants to cruise back into office without a lot of fuss. And, as I said, this was the more conservative candidate the Republicans could have put up. She's probably happy with that because those distinctions are going to be so clear and because President Trump is so unpopular here. If she can paint McMahon into a corner, make him seem kind of like a right wing kind of guy that isn't palatable to those middle of the road voters, she should be okay. And I asked people around Beacon Hill a lot about Healey, and a lot of the talk is about 2022. She's considered a leading candidate for governor. If Charlie Baker leaves after two terms and people think she might be keeping her powder dry.
Howard: That's WGBH statehouse reporter Mike Deehan giving us a preview of tonight's debate between Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey a Democrat and her challenger on the November election Republican Jay McMahon. Healey and McMahon are set to debate at 7 p.m. You can catch it right here on 89.7 WGBH on television on WGBH 2 and online at wgbhnews.org. This is WGBH is All Things Considered.
