The Battle for Lt. Governor

There are a number of candidates actively vying for the open lieutenant governor position in this year’s 2022 Massachusetts general election. Three of the democratic party candidates are Beacon Hill veterans: Senator Adam Hinds, Senator Eric Lesser, and Representative Tami Gouveia. Each of these legislators has represented their districts for at least one previous term, championing many issues important to their region. However, in conducting an analysis of each candidate over the past session, some differences between the candidates are apparent.

Interestingly, for the most part, both Hinds and Lesser voted similarly on the Senate floor in 2021 and 2022. Of the 134 votes taken, they only differed on three votes, all of which pertained to election laws that would impact the 2022 election.

On the VOTES Act legislation (SB2545) which aimed at creating sweeping voting reform across Massachusetts, the two differed on both amendments #4 and #17 proposed by Senator Rebecca Rausch. These amendments sought to ensure access to ballot drop boxes and to give Massachusetts voters paid time off on election days. While Hinds voted for their passage, Lesser voted with the majority of Senators who did not adopt them in the bill. Rep. Gouveia voted similarly to Lesser on the House version of the bill (HB4359), also voting with the majority on striking most proposed amendments (with the exception of jail-based voting improvements). 

In spite of voting for these amendments to the VOTES Act though, Hinds differed from both Lesser and Gouveia on engrossment of HB4256, which established new Congressional districts in the Commonwealth. Hinds voted against enacting these changes, and this was also the one vote in which he differed from party leadership in the Senate. Not including Senate President Karen Spilka’s 83 votes where she abstained, Hinds voted 98% of the time with party leadership, only slightly less than Lesser who voted 100% of the time with Spilka. Although more votes were held in the House, Gouveia differed somewhat greater in her vote record than Speaker Ronald Mariano, with whom she voted 91.2% of the time.

Aside from each legislator’s voting record, there were also differences in their effectiveness in moving bills out of joint committees. Representative Gouveia, having the fewest committee appointments of the three (4 total) was the lead sponsor on 23 bills, of which only 21.7% made it through the committee stage. (2 bills are still pending.) Although this figure was lower than her Senate counterparts, she co-sponsored far more legislation, with a total of 571 bills, over 300 more than Hinds and 400 more than Lesser. 

Of the three candidates, Hinds was the lead sponsor of the most legislation with 76 bills filed, 48.7% of which have moved through committee. Lesser was close behind with 60 bills filed but had a higher rate of 51.7% of legislation moving through committee.* 

One disclaimer worth noting though is that both senators are assigned to at least 5 more committees than Gouveia, and hold chair and vice chair positions. Of their bills that moved forward, 22.6% of Lesser’s legislation and 24.3% of Hinds’ legislation were reported out from committees for which they were either a chair or a member.

This is not to say that any of these bills were not important or did not move forward on their own merit. Being a chair or a member of a committee certainly is not sufficient for getting a bill passed. However, it is an interesting data point.

With the Lieutenant Governor race heating up, it can be difficult to figure out which candidate to support. For candidate voting records, legislative priorities, and more information, InstaTrac can help! If you don’t currently have a MassTrac subscription, reach out for a free trial! Email info@instatrac.com for more information. 

* (both Lesser and Hinds each have 16 bills pending in the committee stage as of 3/18)