BOSTON — Methuen Sen. Diana DiZoglio plans to start raising money toward a 2022 race for state auditor, filing paperwork indicating her interest in the constitutional office that is set to open up with the departure of Suzanne Bump.
DiZoglio on Monday changed her campaign fundraising account to list auditor as the office sought rather than senator, according to Office of Campaign and Political Finance records.
The second-term senator could not be reached for immediate comment Monday morning, but DiZoglio has been linked to the auditor's race since Bump announced last month that she would not seek a fourth term.
DiZoglio served three terms in the House before winning election to the Senate in 2018. In recent months, she has criticized lawmakers for not offering more pandemic relief to restaurants and other small businesses, clashed with Democratic leadership about how much time lawmakers receive to review legislation, and argued that low legislative pay has "priced diversity and equity" out of Beacon Hill.
The auditor field is rapidly taking shape. Governor's Councilor Eileen Duff, a Gloucester Democrat, and Transportation for Massachusetts Director Chris Dempsey have also filed paperwork to run for the seat. Some other candidates who have eyed statewide races are waiting to see the 2022 plans for statewide office-holders such as Attorney General Maura Healey and Treasurer Deb Goldberg before launching campaigns.
If DiZoglio continues to pursue the auditor's race, it would open up her seat in the Senate. The First Essex district she represents stretches across some of the northernmost towns in the Merrimack Valley and North Shore, including Methuen, Haverhill, Merrimac, Amesbury, Salisbury and Newburyport and four precincts in North Andover.
— Chris Lisinski/SHNS
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