Maura Healey makes history as first openly lesbian U.S. governor and first woman elected governor of Massachusetts

Maura Healey made history on Election Day, becoming the first woman to be elected governor of Massachusetts and the first openly lesbian governor in U.S. history. 

Healey, who was the first openly gay attorney general elected in the country in 2014, was previously a civil rights lawyer. She led the first state challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act, which banned same-sex marriage. 

As attorney general, she worked to hold Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family accountable for their role in fueling the opioid epidemic, and her office sued Exxon Mobil for lying about climate change.