Gov. Maura Healey is one lucky politician.
She is running for re-election and, despite a spotty record, has no serious opponent, Democrat or Republican.
Healey made her announcement during a softball interview on friendly GBH radio last week.
“I plan to run for reelection,” Healey, 54, said.
No leading Democrat would dare take her on in a primary, and hardly anyone has even heard of the several no-name Republicans who are talking about taking the plunge.
They are state Sen. Peter Durant of Spencer, who has fought for immigration reform; Mike Kennealy, a former cabinet member in the Gov. Charlie Baker administration, Brian Shortsleeve, a former MBTA official, and Worcester County Sheriff Lew Evangelidis. None have made an official announcement.
It is not known if any of them would seek support from Donald Trump.
And while Healey is running again, she was not asked if she would serve a full four-year term if reelected, or resign midterm for another job and turn the office over to fellow progressive Democrat Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll.
Instead, she continued to rail against Trump and Elon Musk for cutting waste, fraud and abuse in federal spending, like in the $40 billion in USAID budget.
Massachusetts has precedent for governors quitting. In 1997 Republican Gov. Bill Weld resigned to pursue the ambassadorship to Mexico.
Fellow Republican Paul Cellucci, then lieutenant governor, became acting governor. After Cellucci was elected to a full four-year term, he resigned in 2001 to become ambassador to Canada.
He was succeeded as acting governor by Lt. Gov. Jane Swift who was later pushed aside by Mitt Romney before she could run for governor.
This is not to say that Healey is looking for a job, although she was reported to be under consideration to head the U.S. Justice Department if Kamala Harris became president.
Healey at the time shot down those reports.
“I love my job,” she said.
Which may be true, but it will be interesting to see how much she loves the job when Trump and his sidekick Musk, already cutting federal funds to Massachusetts, continue to do so.
“We are not going to be able to pick up the tab,” Healey said in her interview, which would mean raising taxes to make up the difference.
This is especially true when it comes to education funding. building two new Cape Cod bridges and housing and feeding illegal immigrants and others who have made their way to Massachusetts seeking handouts.
Healey said that unless Trump is stopped, she sees more cuts in federal money coming. But she has no way to stop them other than to urge voters to call their members of Congress and “speak up.”
However, the problem for Healey and her anti-Trump staff is that all nine Massachusetts members of the U. S, House and its two senators, all Democrats, are also severe Trump critics.
Not only do they not have any relationship with Trump to talk to him about cuts in federal assistance, neither does Healey nor anybody in her administration.
In other words, none of the political leaders in Massachusetts have any meaningful access to Trump.
To make matters worse for the Healey administration and Massachusetts, Attorney General Andrea Campbell, who succeeded Healey as attorney general is, with Healey’s blessing, suing Trump the way Healey used to do.
Healey sued Trump during his first administration coming and going some one hundred times.
Campbell filed suit against Trump on the first day he took office over ending birthright citizenship. She has filed several more.
In addition, Campbell said she would seek more funds from the Legislature to further “Trump proof” the state by hiring more lawyers and filing more lawsuits.
Will Healey go along with anti-Trump legal action and continued criticism while expecting the man to shower the state with federal funds?
I would guess not. Which means that unless Healey works out an accommodation with Trump, the state is in for a rough ride.
Veteran political reporter Peter Lucas can be reached at: peter.lucas@bostonherald.com