Chris Doughty, a Wrentham Republican who has grown a manufacturing business here over the last three decades, announced Wednesday that he is running for governor, upping the level of competition on the GOP side in the campaign to succeed outgoing Gov. Charlie Baker.
Doughty becomes the second Republican to launch a major campaign to try to extend the party's hold on the governor's office in Massachusetts, joining former state Rep. Geoff Diehl in the party's primary contest. Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito both decided not to seek third terms in 2022.
The Brigham Young University and Harvard Business School grad started Capstan Industries and Capstan Atlantic, based in Wrentham, in 1992. In a video announcing his run for governor, Doughty said he was so excited for his first day and was confident the new business would be a success.
"Instead, the first thing that happened is one of our machines broke and without it, we didn't have much of a business. So I jumped in the pit and spent the next two weeks working side by side with electricians and mechanics until we got it up and running," he said. "Those initial days set me on a 30-year path of working together with incredible people from all walks of life to solve difficult problems with the right team, a little creativity and a willingness to work hard, just about any problem could be solved. This is the same work ethic and teamwork I will bring as your governor."
Capstan Atlantic now has about 300 employees, two facilities including a 130,000-square-foot manufacturing plant, and was given the 2016 gold medal award for job growth and economic expansion by the Massachusetts Economic Council, according to Doughty's LinkedIn profile. His page describes Capstan Atlantic as "East Coast Largest manufacturing of powder metal parts for auto, truck, industrial and appliance industry."
"Chris is an expert in lean systems and cost containment and has been a lecturer on the topic. He is credited with multiple acquisitions and turnarounds of struggling businesses through refocusing on customer satisfaction, cost management and employee engagement," he wrote on his LinkedIn.
Doughty and his wife, Leslie, have six children who he notes graduated from public schools and four grandchildren. In his announcement video, he says "Massachusetts has become unaffordable for many of our residents" and specifically points to job growth and investments in education from early childhood through college and trade schools as priorities.
Diehl, who has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump and works closely with the Massachusetts Republican Party leadership that does not see eye-to-eye with the popular two-term governor, has been running for governor for months, even before Baker and Polito decided to sit out the 2022 cycle.
"We need more Charlie Bakers," Polito said Tuesday night in her remarks before Baker gave his State of the Commonwealth address.
Three other Republicans have filed paperwork with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance to run for governor: Darius Mitchell of Lowell, who gave a memorable and well-received speech at the 2018 GOP convention, filed last March; Kimberly Duffy of Quincy filed in August; and Joselito Santiago Matias of Worcester filed last week.
