Now that Tuesday’s off-year elections are ancient history, it’s time to turn our attention to 2026. And the Herald’s Peter Lucas has it right: Gov. Maura Healey’s administration is definitely showing cracks these days (the Lamar Cook fiasco, Tibbits-Nutt turmoil, Plaza-gate, cabinet turnover etc.) but combined they’re probably not enough to seriously endanger her re-election chances. Yet, she is making her re-election more difficult than maybe it should be, especially if her general-election foe turns out to be GOP megadonor Mike Minogue, who’s already pumped $1.5 million of his own money into his campaign and launched TV ads a full year before the 2026 election, as the Globe reports. … Not to discount the other two GOP candidates (Brian Shortsleeve and Mike Keneally) but it sure looks like Minogue, a businessman and Army veteran, is the early odds-on favorite to win the Republican nomination, based mostly on the wads of cash at his disposal. … Minogue’s greatest liability if he ever goes one-on-one against Healey: Donald Trump, as more than a few readers have noted in the Globe’s comments section.

Btw: WBUR reports Healey was recently in Miami raising funds from, among others, Florida-based lawyers at Morgan & Morgan, the personal injury law firm headed by the billionaire old guy you can’t miss on TV. Does Barry Feinstein know about this?