News (USA)

Maura Healey elected nation’s first openly gay Attorney General

Maura Healey elected nation’s first openly gay Attorney General

BOSTON — Democrat Maura Healey has won the race for Massachusetts attorney general, topping Republican John Miller to become the nation’s first openly gay candidate elected to the top law enforcement job.

Maura Healey
Maura Healey

The 43-year-old Healey spent seven years in the attorney general’s office and was the former chief of the civil rights division.

She said she had the experience to do the job and hit the ground running.

Miller had argued Healey would continue in the vein of Democratic Attorney General Martha Coakley, with too strong a focus on prosecution and not enough on preventing fraud and abuse. Coakley opted to run for governor instead.

Miller had touted his more than three decades of experience, including in construction and government contracts law.

Healey is best known in the LGBT community for her work as assistant attorney general on the Massachusetts challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act, a lawsuit complementary to one led by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders.

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