Shawn Oliver ends Massachusetts lt. governor bid after drunk-driving arrest

Minogue faces Governor Healey in November 3 general election

The Republican candidate for Massachusetts lieutenant governor, Shawn Oliver, announced Sunday that he was suspending his campaign, hours after police arrested him on suspicion of operating under the influence of alcohol following a New Bedford car crash late Saturday. The suspension was confirmed by Oliver’s running mate and by posts Oliver published on X.

Oliver, 42, said on X that he was ending his campaign because “the election is too important to be overshadowed by personal matters.” Mike Minogue, the Republican nominee for governor and Oliver’s running mate, said on X that he asked Oliver to immediately suspend his campaign and that “when elected, I will formally ask for his resignation.”

Minogue, a businessman and military veteran, added: “I am extremely disappointed. There is no excuse for driving under the influence.” In a separate post, he wrote: “Shawn is lucky to be alive and lucky that no one innocent was hurt.”

Police said Oliver was involved in a crash late Saturday in New Bedford in which a vehicle struck multiple parked vehicles before overturning. He was taken to a hospital for injuries and then arrested on suspicion of operating under the influence of alcohol, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, a marked lanes violation, and speeding, Holly Huntoon, a police spokesperson, said in an email. The New Bedford Light first reported the arrest.

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 from Oliver was not immediately returned.

Oliver was born and raised in New Bedford, a city of about 100,000 residents roughly 60 miles south of Boston. He was elected to the city council in 2023 and works as a corrections officer at the Massachusetts Treatment Center, a medium-security state Department of Correction facility that houses sex offenders and people civilly committed as sexually dangerous persons.

Oliver has been placed on restricted work duty at the facility “while all facts and circumstances are reviewed,” Lindsay Corcoran, a state Department of Correction spokesperson, said in an email.

Minogue faces Democratic Governor Maura Healey in the November 3 general election. The Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor is incumbent Kim Driscoll. The lieutenant governor’s position in Massachusetts is widely described as largely ceremonial, though the officeholder is first in line to succeed the governor in the event of a resignation or death.