Former CEO Michael Minogue launches GOP bid for governor

Minogue, who announced his campaign after months of speculation, is a prominent GOP donor who hosted Vice President J.D. Vance last year.

Michael Minogue at a gala in 2018. Roger Farrington

After months of speculation, businessman Michael Minogue entered the growing Republican field to challenge Governor Maura Healey next year, he said in a campaign video message Wednesday.

“Working people — the ones building our communities, teaching our kids, paying the bills — have been left behind, and many are leaving. Our current one-party system isn’t working,” Minogue said. “I’m running to be a new kind of governor. One with the faith, the heart, and the grit to serve for Massachusetts.”

In the video, Minogue describes his military service in Desert Storm and his nearly two decades leading Danvers-based medical device company Abiomed as CEO until 2023. Born to an Irish Catholic family, Minogue received an engineering degree from West Point in 1989 and started his career in the medical device industry with General Electric HealthCare.

A prominent GOP-donor who hosted Vice President J.D. Vance at a fundraiser last year, Minogue reportedly had been debating since at least May whether to jump into the race.

In 2024 and 2025, Minogue donated more than half a million dollars to the Republican National Committee, as well as $10,000 to the state’s Republican Party, according to federal campaign finance data. Last year, he also donated $100,000 to the Trump 47 Committee.

Last year, he and his wife Renee, who live in Gloucester and have five children together, co-hosted Vance in Gloucester at the height of the presidential election. Ticket prices ranged from $5,000 to $100,000.

Minogue, a relatively political newcomer, is up against Mike Kennealy, a former Governor Charlie Baker official, and Brian Shortsleeve, the former head of the MBTA.

Kennealy, who served as the Secretary of Housing and Economic Development, attributed the creation of 230,000 jobs to his economic policy. Kennealy is “the only Republican candidate that has a track record of delivering for the people in Massachusetts,” his spokesperson said when asked about Minogue’s campaign.

“Kennealy is the only Republican candidate who can defeat Maura Healey and restore the promise of Massachusetts in 2026,” said Logan Trupiano, a spokesperson for Kennealy.

Shortsleeve, who was appointed to the MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board by Baker, pointed to his “outsider” perspective and business background.

“He understands how to fix the affordability crisis, slash taxes and regulations and end the migrant crisis. That’s why he is leading the Republican primary and will defeat Maura Healey in 2026,” Shortsleeve’s spokesperson, Holly Robichaud, said.

Minogue and his wife, who are Catholic, also run an eponymous 501(c)3 foundation that supports “faith-based education,” healthcare innovation, and veteran career opportunities, according to its website.

“Whether it’s leading soldiers or leading a business, the mission is the same: take care of your people and deliver results,” Minogue said in the video ad. “I love Massachusetts. It’s our home. … But, too many families don’t feel that promise anymore. They’re being squeezed by higher costs, ignored by politicians who care more about themselves than the citizens they serve.”