Mass. Gov. Healey’s popularity takes a dip in new poll

Less than half of all Massachusetts residents say they approve of Democratic Gov. Maura Healey’s job performance as Bay State Republicans rev their engines ahead of the 2026 campaign.

Forty-nine percent of respondents to the new University of New Hampshire poll said they approve of Healey, compared to 45% who said they disapproved. With the poll’s 3.3% margin of error, that’s a statistical dead heat.

Still, the Arlington Democrat, who’s had to fend off GOP criticisms of her management of the state’s shelter crisis among other issues, did see her popularity decrease from the last UNH poll in March.

There, 54% of respondents approved of Healey’s job performance, compared to 43% who said they disapproved.

Two Republicans, Mike Kennealy and Brian Shortsleeve, both former aides to GOP Gov. Charlie Baker, are vying for the party’s nomination in 2026.

Healey maintained support among Bay State Democrats (78%) while nearly 4 in 10 independents (39%) and 5% of Republicans said they approved of her.

UNH pollsters sampled the opinions of 907 respondents between May 22 and May 26.

Twenty-one percent of respondents listed the state’s high housing costs as the top issue facing Massachusetts, while 12% each pointed to immigration and the state’s high cost of living.

Healey, in multiple public appearances, has touted her administration’s efforts to rein in the cost of housing and to lower the cost of living.

Barely a third of respondents (37%) said Healey deserves a second term, while 40% said she does not — another statistical dead heat given the poll’s margin of error.

Twenty-three percent of respondents said they had no opinion.

Sixty percent of self-identified Democrats said Healey deserved four more years in the corner office, compared to 32% of independents and 4% of Republicans.

Another candidate facing reelection next year — Democratic U.S. Sen. Ed Markey — encountered similarly choppy waters, with just 33% saying he deserves another term, compared to 43% who said he does not.

More than half of all respondents (55%) said they’re concerned about Markey’s age.

The Malden Democrat will be 79 in the thick of the 2026 campaign season. And among respondents who think he deserves another term, 48% said they were concerned about his, according to the poll.

Among those who think Markey does not deserve reelection, more than 7 in 10 respondents (71%) said they were concerned about his age.

Meanwhile, only about a third of respondents said they approved of Republican President Donald Trump’s handling of such key issues as the economy and foreign policy. And a similar number said they approved of his job performance, according to the poll.

Six in 10 respondents said they disapproved of Trump’s ongoing war with Harvard University over its internal operations and the administration’s efforts to withhold federal funding from the Cambridge-based institution.