Massachusetts GOP lieutenant governor candidate suspends campaign after arrest in car crash
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NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) — The Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in Massachusetts dropped out of the race on Sunday hours after he was arrested in a suspected drunk driving crash.
Shawn Oliver, a city councilor in New Bedford and a corrections officer, said in a post on X he was ending his campaign because “the election is too important to be overshadowed by personal matters.”
The move came after his running mate, Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Minogue, said he asked Oliver to immediately suspend his campaign and that “when elected, I will formally ask for his resignation.”
“I am extremely disappointed,” Minogue said on X. “There is no excuse for driving under the influence.”
Police said Oliver, 42, was arrested after he was involved in a car crash late Saturday involving a vehicle that struck multiple parked vehicles before turning over.
He was taken to the hospital for injuries and arrested on suspicion of operating under the influence of alcohol, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, a marked lanes violation and speeding, police spokesperson Holly Huntoon said in an email. The arrest was first reported by The New Bedford Light.
New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell, a Democrat, said the allegations against Oliver were “deeply concerning” and that the public deserves to hear from him about what happened.
A phone message seeking comment was left for Oliver, who was born and raised in the city of 100,000 people about 60 miles (97 kilometers) south of Boston and was elected to the city council in 2023.
Minogue, a businessman and military veteran, faces incumbent Democratic Gov. Maura Healey on the November ballot. The Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor is incumbent Kim Driscoll.
The lieutenant governor’s position in Massachusetts is seen as largely ceremonial, but the officeholder is first in line to become governor if the governor resigns or dies.
Oliver has been placed on restricted work duty at his job at the Massachusetts Treatment Center “while all facts and circumstances are reviewed,” Lindsay Corcoran, a spokesperson for the state’s Department of Correction, said in an email. The medium-security facility houses sex offenders and people civilly committed as sexually dangerous persons.