POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: WARREN vying for TREASURY – New data on COVID CLUSTERS – EARLY VOTING ends TODAY

BY STEPHANIE MURRAY

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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. It’s almost Halloween! WARREN VYING FOR TREASURY ROLE — Could Massachusetts in for another blockbuster Senate race? Maybe, maybe not. But news that Sen. Elizabeth Warren plans to make her case to be Joe Biden's Treasury secretary if he wins on Nov. 3, according to a scoop from my POLTICO colleagues, raised eyebrows last night. Some Democrats I spoke with yesterday , still spooked by Donald Trump’s 2016 upset victory, worried speculating over cabinet posts could jinx Biden's chances. But others said the cabinet jockeying is reflective of the former vice president's wide lead in the polls. Warren's intention to seek the Treasury post set off the usual discussion about GOP Gov. Charlie Baker's power to fill vacant Senate seats, and whether the legislature could change the rules. (Here's a refresher ). And no, even if a ranked choice voting ballot question passes next week, it would not impact a 2021 special election. The law would go into effect in 2022. Of course, there's no guarantee Biden would select Warren for the position. The Massachusetts Democrat's calls for more regulation are often at odds with Wall Street, while Biden is friendlier with the financial industry. But if he did, here are some candidates who may take a look at running for an open Senate seat. Some names that come up often: Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Attorney General Maura Healey, Rep. Joe Kennedy III, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, Rep. Stephen Lynch, former Gov. Deval Patrick and Gov. Charlie Baker. Pressley, who led in a recent poll of prospective candidates, didn't take the bait when asked by the press in New Hampshire about a potential Senate run, according to the Boston Herald. Rep. Joe Kennedy III may get the same question when he campaigns for Joe Biden in Maine today. His unsuccessful primary campaign against Sen. Ed Markey ended last month. And here are a couple of other Democrats who did not say no when asked about the Senate: Samantha Power, former ambassador to the United Nations, didn't rule out a run for Warren's seat during an event last year. And Rep. Bill Keating also didn't turn down the possibility of a senate campaign during a WPRI interview last year. EXCLUSIVE: AUCHINCLOSS RAISES CASH FOR FELLOW DEMS — Jake Auchincloss, the Democrat running to replace Rep. Joe Kennedy III in the House against Republican Julie Hall, has reached "True Blue" status within the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Auchincloss earned the title by raising $100,000 to help other Democratic candidates ahead of Election Day, and has raised $775,000 for his own campaign since the Sept. 1 primary. First reported in Playbook, Auchincloss has also received an endorsement from the Massachusetts SEIU State Council. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com. TODAY — Rep. Ayanna Pressley hosts a virtual event with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Ilhan Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, guests include Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Maxine Waters, and a number of Democratic candidates. Supporters of the Question 2 ballot question hold a rally and speak to the press. Rep. Lori Trahan hosts a Domestic Violence Awareness Month event on Facebook Live. Congressional candidates Jake Auchincloss and Julie Hall tape a debate in the studios of Providence/New Bedford station WPRI-TV. ELECTIONLAND: POLITICO is partnering with Electionland , a ProPublica project that works with newsrooms to track voting issues around the country. The Electionland project covers problems that prevent eligible voters from casting their ballots during the 2020 elections. We’re part of a coalition of newsrooms around the country that are investigating issues related to voter registration, pandemic-related changes to voting, the shift to vote-by-mail, cybersecurity, voter education, misinformation, and more. Tell us here if you’re having trouble voting.

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THE LATEST NUMBERS

– “Massachusetts reports 1,243 new coronavirus cases, 27 deaths as average positive tests increases to 1.8%” by Tanner Stening, MassLive.com: “Massachusetts health officials confirmed another 1,243 coronavirus cases on Thursday, bringing the statewide total to 151,741. That’s based on 18,333 new molecular tests, according to the Department of Public Health. Officials also announced another 27 COVID-19 deaths, bringing the total number of fatalities to 9,727.” – “New data shed more light on source of coronavirus clusters around Mass.” by Kay Lazar, Boston Globe: “Amid a surge of coronavirus cases in Massachusetts, new state data indicate that dozens of clusters in the past month have been identified in child care settings, nursing homes, senior living centers, restaurants and food courts, and from organized athletic activities. Yet many of these clusters — identified as two or more confirmed cases with a common exposure — resulted in a relatively small percentage of the roughly 20,000 new confirmed cases for that period.”

DATELINE BEACON HILL

– “For the first time, state board strips pension of a former State Police trooper convicted in fraud scandal,” by Matt Rocheleau, Boston Globe: “The state’s retirement board on Thursday stripped the pension of a veteran Massachusetts State Police trooper convicted in a high-profile payroll fraud scheme, marking the first time the panel has punished an officer implicated in the sprawling scandal. The five-member board voted to take away former trooper Paul Cesan’s pension, which would have paid the 52-year-old from Southwick and his former wife nearly $80,000 a year for the rest of his life.” – “COVID-19 cases in Mass. schools up sharply,” by Sarah Betancourt, CommonWealth Magazine: “State education officials reported a 41 percent increase in coronavirus cases identified in Massachusetts schools from October 22 to October 28 compared with the previous 7-day period. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education reported 286 new coronavirus cases in schools over the recent 7-day reporting period, up from 202 during the previous week of data collection.” – “Baker super PAC mixes up photo in mailer,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: “When you’re sending out thousands and thousands of campaign mailers, mistakes can happen. A super PAC affiliated with Gov. Charlie Baker recently sent out a mailer plugging Republican Rep. Leonard Mirra of West Newbury for reelection, but it carried a picture of a different Republican on the back side. The mixup occurred when a photo of Baker, Mirra, and Rep. James Kelcourse of Amesbury was mistakenly cropped to remove Mirra instead of Kelcourse.”

FROM THE HUB

– “Boston Mayor Marty Walsh unveils effort to encourage people to get tested for coronavirus,” by Travis Andersen and Martin Finucane, Boston Globe: “With COVID-19 cases on the rise, Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh on Thursday unveiled the ‘Get The Test Boston’ pledge, an initiative aimed at getting more people tested for the virus. ‘I’m asking everyone to commit to getting tested for COVID-19. Getting tested is how you keep yourself and your family safe,’ Walsh said at an afternoon briefing with reporters.” – “LogMeIn, too, will cut Boston office space,” by Jon Chesto, Boston Globe: “LogMeIn is the latest company to decide it needs much less office space, as it prepares for a post-pandemic reality in which most of its employees will work primarily from home. On Wednesday, chief executive Bill Wagner said LogMeIn will need only half of the space at corporate headquarters on Summer Street in Boston.”

BALLOT WARS

– “Question 2 asks Mass. voters to change how candidates win elections there,” by Ted Nesi, WPRI: “The most interesting race on next week’s ballot in Massachusetts doesn’t feature any candidates at all. Question 2 asks Bay State voters whether they want to switch their electoral system to ranked-choice voting, which is already being used in Maine.” – “John Kerry, former secretary of state, backs Question 2 for ranked choice voting,” by Steph Solis, MassLive.com: “Count former Secretary of State John Kerry on the growing list of high-profile names backing the Massachusetts ballot question on ranked choice voting. Kerry promoted the ballot question in a tweet Thursday afternoon. ‘Democracy only works when every citizen feels empowered,’ said Kerry, a Democrat who represented Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate until 2013 when he was tapped to join the Obama administration.” ON THE STUMP – “Get to know the candidates: 4th Congressional District race in Mass. to fill Kennedy’s seat,” by Alison Bosma, Taunton Gazette: “From coronavirus to the economy to the environment, big issues are on the table for the 4th Congressional District U.S. representative race. A flood of candidates rushed to fill the seat when former U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy III vacated it to run for an ultimately unsuccessful bid for U.S. senator. The winners were Democrat and Newton City Councilor Jake Auchincloss and Republican and Attleboro Municipal Councilor Julie Hall.” NOVEMBER IS COMING – “More than 2 million Massachusetts voters have cast their ballots in Nov. 3 election,” by Steph Solis, MassLive.com: “Massachusetts clerks have received more than 2 million ballots over the past two weeks, according to Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin’s office. Another 134,676 people have returned their ballots through mail or early voting since Wednesday, bringing turnout past the 2 million mark, according to Galvin’s office.” DAY IN COURT – “'Such Feeble Evidence': Mass. Lawyers Say State Falsely Accused Them Of Sending Drugs To Prisoners By Mail,” by Deborah Becker, WBUR: “More than a dozen Massachusetts attorneys claim they have been falsely accused by state prison staff of sending drugs to their incarcerated clients. Since September, several attorneys have called on the state Department of Correction to change the way it handles testing the mail they send to their clients in prison.” – “As busy immigration dockets resume in Boston, coronavirus fears rise,” by Shelley Murphy, Boston Globe: “On an ordinary day before the pandemic, more than 100 people would come to the US Immigration Court in Boston for preliminary hearings, cramming hallways and courtrooms as they waited, sometimes hours, for their cases to be called. So attorney Rachel Self was nervous when her client was ordered to appear in court on Oct. 14, a day after the court resumed ‘master calendar’ hearings for the first time in seven months.” – “Suffolk DA Agrees to Reduce Murder Charges Against Arnold King,” by Deborah Becker, WBUR: “Citing evidence of racism in the jury selection process, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollings has agreed to reduce the 1971 murder conviction of Arnold King. Rollins said she made the decision based on input from her office's Integrity Review Bureau, which recommended reducing the verdict against King to manslaughter.” – “Anti-eviction protesters block entrance to Boston Municipal Court,” by Erin Tiernan, Boston Herald: “Protesters locked arms and chanted ‘shut it down’ as they blocked the entrance to Boston Housing Court during a Thursday rally aimed at preventing a wave of mass evictions predicted as thousands fall behind on rent amid the coronavirus pandemic.”   A message from Masterworks:     WARREN REPORT – “Exclusive: Warren will make case to be Biden's Treasury secretary,” by Alex Thompson and Megan Cassella, POLITICO: “Elizabeth Warren wants to be Joe Biden's Treasury secretary and will make her case for it if he wins next week, according to three Democratic officials who have spoken with her inner circle. ‘She wants it,’ two of them said matter-of-factly. Warren’s moves could set up the marquee fight between the party's left and its center over what will be one of the most consequential Cabinet roles in the next administration.” – “Sen. Elizabeth Warren: This Election Can Crack The Door Open For Structural Change,” by Zoe Mathews, GBH News: “Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Thursday that society has been so fundamentally altered by the challenges of a botched federal response to the coronavirus pandemic and racial justice reckoning over the summer, that the election may open the door to the big structural change she called for during her presidential run.” – “Elizabeth Warren’s office compiled a report on the Trump administration’s Hatch Act violations. They counted more than 50.” by Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com: “Sen. Elizabeth Warren often calls President Donald Trump’s administration the ‘most corrupt’ in the country’s history — and not just because of the headline-grabbing stuff. In a report Thursday shared exclusively with Boston.com, the Massachusetts senator’s office put together a list of all the confirmed and alleged violations of the Hatch Act by Trump administration officials, finding a pattern of disregard for the law with ‘almost no consequences.’” MARKEYCHUSETTS – “Markey calls out US trucking regulator for ‘dereliction of responsibility,' demands reforms,” by Laura Crimaldi, Boston Globe: “Senator Edward J. Markey issued a scathing letter Thursday to the federal agency that oversees the trucking industry, citing its ‘dereliction of responsibility’ and demanding it address widespread safety failures exposed in a recent Globe investigation. In a letter to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Markey asked the agency to explain why it has refused to more strenuously scrutinize nascent trucking companies and enhance the system for background checks of commercial drivers.” THE PRESSLEY PARTY – “The Incarcerated Are Eligible for Stimulus Checks. Reps. Ayanna Pressley and Danny Davis Want to Know Why the Bureau of Prisons Is Blocking Them,” by Anne Branigin, The Root: “Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, the United States Congress has given only one stimulus check to help Americans weather the public health crisis and its ensuing economic downturn. For many households, that $1,200 check has long since been spent, as months of political discussions about a second stimulus bill dead-ended with the president and Senate Majority Mitch McConnell, who prioritized pushing through Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation to the Supreme Court.” – “Ayanna Pressley pushes progressives for Biden Cabinet as she campaigns for Democratic nominee in N.H.” by Lisa Kashinsky, Boston Herald: “U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley said it’s “very” important to have progressive representation in Joe Biden’s Cabinet as she stumped for the Democratic nominee in New Hampshire just five days before Election Day. ‘What this pandemic has laid bare — inequities and disparities and racial injustices that have existed for a long time — is going to require of us bold, progressive policies’ to change,’ Pressley said.” TRUMPACHUSETTS – “Former Gov. Bill Weld: Trump Is 'A Threat To The Rule Of Law,'” GBH News: A group of 20 former U.S. attorneys, all of whom served under Republican presidents, signed an open letter this week denouncing President Donald Trump and giving former Vice President Joe Biden their ‘strongest endorsement’ in next week’s election.” IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN – “Enviro groups split on state Senate battle,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: “Two of the state’s leading environmental groups are split on which candidate is the best to represent the Plymouth and Norfolk Senate district, which includes six coastal communities dealing with climate change and a town that is home to a controversial natural gas compressor station.” ABOVE THE FOLD — Herald: “TAKING NOTHING FOR GRANITE,” — Globe: “Cluster data bring more questions on virus spread," "Campaigns converge on Florida.” FROM THE 413 – “‘There is a toxic culture in our state government,’ former Holyoke Soldiers’ Home executive tells legislative committee,” by Stephanie Barry, Springfield Republican: “High-ranking state officials ignored dire staffing shortages at the Soldiers' Home in Holyoke until 76 veterans died of COVID-19, then fled from culpability after the outbreak, say two past executives at the facility. Testifying remotely Thursday before a special legislative committee, retired Superintendent Paul Barabani and former Deputy Superintendent John Paradis suggested the so-called Pearlstein report — commissioned by Gov. Charlie Baker to find the causes of the outbreak — was a farce.” THE LOCAL ANGLE – “Cape Cod towns see more money last summer than expected,” by Doug Fraser, Cape Cod Online: “Many worried that aid from the state and the federal government wouldn’t be enough or might not come at all. But those aid packages did appear, although they’ve since dried up. And summer happened despite the pandemic: people came to the Cape as either a refuge or vacation destination; restaurants reopened with reduced seating, and home sales boomed.” – “Assumption University orders shelter-in-place, 22% of residential students in quarantine,” by Scott O'Connell, Telegram & Gazette: “After seeing a sharp rise in its number of COVID-19 cases and quarantining students, Assumption University on Thursday announced it would institute a weeklong shelter-in-place order for students. The move, which President Francesco Cesareo said was a joint decision between the school and the city’s health department, will keep students mostly restricted to their dorm rooms from 8 a.m. today (Friday) until next Friday.” – “Sartorius to open facility in Marlborough that will aid in production of COVID-19 vaccine, treatments,” by Michael Bonner, MassLive.com: “A biotechnology company plans to open a 40,000-square-foot facility in Marlborough in early 2021 that will aid in the development and manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics. Sartorius, international partner of life science research and the biopharmaceutical industry, announced Thursday that it plans to open a Customer Service Interaction Center in Marlborough.” – “State dings Brockton schools for downward slide. But Minichiello slams back, saying ‘school system’s burning’ due to state’s own cuts.” by Ben Berke, The Enterprise: “The city’s public schools, once a national touchstone for reformers seeking to close racial achievement gaps in education, have seen a continuous decline in the academic outcomes tracked by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in recent years, according to a new report released earlier this month.” MEDIA MATTERS – “New Netflix series to explore Sean Ellis case,” by Daniel Sheehan, Dorchester Reporter: “A forthcoming Netflix docuseries will explore the case of Sean Ellis, a Dorchester man who spent 22 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of murdering Boston Police detective John Mulligan in 1993. Trial 4, the eight part series set to be released on November 11, will feature several prominent local voices, including those of Suffolk County DA Rachael Rollins and former Reporter correspondent Elaine Murphy, who covered development of the case until Ellis’ murder convictions were reversed and he returned to society a free man in 2015.” TRANSITIONS – Jessi Miller Bradley was named news director of WBZ-TV. Link. – Allison Ahern Fillo joins Boston law firm Davis Malm. HAPPY BIRTHDAY – to the fabulous Jackie Tempera of Boston College Magazine, Sandy Flint, Lydia Chernicoff and Glenda Izaguirre. HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND – to Saturday birthday-ers POLITICO’s Michael Kruse, Alexandra Pigeon and Boston Globe columnist Yvonne Abraham, and to Sunday birthday-ers Molly Horan, Hannah Smith and Siri Uotila. NEW EPISODE: END TIMES INSIGHT – On this week’s Horse Race podcast, hosts Steve Koczela and Stephanie Murray discuss ranked choice voting and a new Massachusetts poll, and the Boston Globe’s Victoria McGrane breaks down the fight for the Senate. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud . Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com.   A message from Masterworks: History shows adding blue-chip art can boost portfolio stability. Data from Citi’s Global Art Market Report 2019 finds art to be one of the least volatile asset classes, sharing a correlation factor of just 0.13 to public equities. 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