Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook:

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook:

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WE'RE IN THE ENDGAME NOW — Republicans running for statewide office are down in polls with two weeks to go until Election Day, but they’re not going out without a fight.

Geoff Diehl and Jay McMahon, who've also long trailed their Democratic rivals in fundraising, have each put together the cash for television ads.

Diehl has run two spots so far: One tries to tie Attorney General Maura Healey, the Democratic nominee for governor, to rising energy costs. The other copies an ad the state party ran over the summer that bashes Healey for her now walked-back comment after George Floyd’s murder that “America is burning, but that’s how forests grow." But Healey is counteracting that messaging by shelling out more than five times what Diehl is spending on TV ads this week, per tracking service AdImpact.

McMahon, the Republican nominee for attorney general, is planning to run two ads starting later this week. His campaign has spent roughly $75,000 on ad buys so far, and expects that to grow to about $100,000.

That won’t buy him much. But McMahon will be the only attorney general candidate airing ads on broadcast and cable before the general election. Democrat Andrea Campbell, who led by 20 points in a recent poll, has slashed her ad buys and shifted her resources to digital advertising and voter-outreach efforts, her campaign said.

Campbell is putting $85,000 behind two ads that will run on streaming services after saying last week she would spend $250,000 in a combined television and digital ad campaign ahead of Election Day. The first ad, which focused on protecting kids from bullying , was released last week. A new ad out today, and shared first with Playbook, highlights Campbell’s pledge to defend abortion access and touts her endorsements from Healey and the Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts.

How candidates are spending their money matters because there are plenty of voters left to influence. Turnout was approaching 6 percent Monday afternoon, with 283,390 ballots cast by mail or through early in-person voting, the secretary of state's office said. That breaks down to 262,181 mail ballots and 21,209 ballots cast during the first weekend of early in-person voting. For reference, more than 60 percent of registered voters cast ballots in 2018, the last time the governor's office was on the ballot.

And speaking of money matters: A new independent expenditure PAC has formed to aid Rahsaan Hall, the Democrat vying to unseat longtime Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz. The group intends to spend about $50,000 to boost Hall, a progressive former prosecutor and ACLU of Massachusetts alum, over the Republican, a spokesperson for the IEPAC told Playbook.

Hall has attracted big-name support from Healey, Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Ayanna Pressley. But he's also blown through nearly all of his campaign cash. Hall entered October with less than $5,000 in his bank account, compared to Cruz's $86,049.

GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, ZAPPE-CHUSETTS. Or is it? At least one pol tried to capitalize on Zappe fever when it was still running hot. Bristol County Sheriff Tom Hodgson, or perhaps someone with the password to his account, tweeted : "Loving Zappe like our tough on crime Sheriff!"

TODAY — Gov. Charlie Baker holds a ceremonial SPEED Act signing at 10 a.m. at Hanscom Air Force Base and discusses his "Results" book at 6 p.m. at American University in Washington, D.C. Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito speaks at the Blue Future Conference at noon in Plymouth. Markey keynotes a New England Council forum on Alzheimer’s innovation at noon at the Omni Parker House in Boston. Markey and Rep. Lori Trahan attend a Dandelion Energy ribbon-cutting event in Marlborough at 1:30 p.m. Healey campaigns at the MedTech Conference in Boston at 2:45 p.m. Diehl rallies with conservative radio host Jeff Kuhner at 7 p.m. at Faneuil Hall.

Warren and Pressley's student debt cancellation tour takes them from the Grove Hall Boston Public Library branch at 10 a.m., to the Massasoit Community College library at noon, to UMass Chan Medical School at 2:30 p.m. and to Springfield Technical Community College at 4:45 p.m.

Tips? Scoops? Feel like Monday morning quarterbacking on a Tuesday? Email me: lkashinsky@politico.com .

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DATELINE BEACON HILL

— “Domb: DOJ should investigate threats against hospitals that provide gender-affirming care,” by Scott Merzbach, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “Recent threats and attacks made against children’s hospitals providing what is known as gender-affirming care should be investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice, according to a letter issued by state Rep. Mindy Domb, D-Amherst.”

FROM THE HUB

— “Wu calls for state help on 'Mass. and Cass',” by Amanda Beland and Tiziana Dearing, WBUR: “Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is calling on the state to fund 1,000 units of low-threshold housing units outside the city to help those struggling with addiction and housing insecurity who are now living at the area around Melnea Cass Boulevard and Massachusetts Avenue.”

— “Boston, businesses to pay for employee bus, subway rides,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: “Employees working for the city of Boston, Google, Sanofi, and retailers at Assembly Row in Somerville will be able to ride the MBTA subways and buses for free under a two-year pilot program paid for by the employers. The new initiative, announced on Monday, is an extension of an existing program run by MIT that allows the university to pay after-the-fact for individual trips taken by employees and students. The MIT program, which has been in place since 2016, also offers significant discounts on monthly passes and commuter rail service. Between the four employers, a total of nearly 10,000 employees will be covered under the new program, with the city of Boston accounting for roughly 4,000.”

— “Boston City Councilors argue over whether to vote this week on redistricting map,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “The PowerPoints, pot shots and proffers flew freely as the Boston City Council spent nearly the entire business day throwing the proverbial spaghetti at the redistricting wall ahead of a potential vote this week. Part of the debate, though, as a Monday marathon working session gave way to public hearing, is whether to vote this week at all. City Councilor Liz Breadon, the body’s redistricting chair, continued to reiterate that she plans on calling for a vote this Wednesday on whatever the council decides the next map will look like. Several councilors pushed back on that, including City Council President Ed Flynn, who’s been critical of the most recent map Breadon’s embraced.”

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BALLOT BATTLES

— “Ballot Question 1 supporters blast new opponents' ad as 'misleading',” by Benjamin Kail, Boston Business Journal: “Proponents of the so-called millionaires tax say critics have resorted to scare tactics and misleading TV ads to drum up opposition among Massachusetts homeowners and retirees. In a virtual news conference Monday morning, Fair Share for Massachusetts spokesperson Andrew Farnitano said the campaign sent letters to several networks following an ‘egregious’ ad from the No On Question 1 group that ran over the weekend, which proponents say inflates the number of home sales that could trigger the proposed tax in Ballot Question 1. … Asked about Fair Share’s accusations of misleading advertising, a spokesman for the Coalition to Stop the Tax Hike Amendment pointed to Tufts research showing that 21,000 Massachusetts households reported income over $1 million last year.”

— “Mass. small business sales mostly won’t trigger ‘millionaire’s tax,’ report finds,” by Alison Kuznitz, MassLive: “Small business sales in Massachusetts, in the vast majority of circumstances, would not trigger the so-called Fair Share Amendment or millionaires tax, should the contentious ballot question succeed at the polls next month, a new report released Monday finds.”

— "Elections weren’t in a healthy state pre-2020. Now, we’re pushing them to the brink," by Tal Kopan, Boston Globe: "In Massachusetts, Foxborough Clerk Robert E. Cutler, Jr., who is also president of the Massachusetts Town Clerks Association, noted that a recent law making mail-in balloting permanent for presidential elections and expanding in-person early voting to two weeks before an election came with no additional funding. 'I don’t know if it’s as much an under-appreciation or a lack of understanding as to what actually goes into putting an election together,' Cutler said. 'It’s not sustainable.'”

THE LOCAL ELECTIONS ROUNDUP

ANOTHER KOCH SPONSORED ISSUE INTENDED TO DESTROY PUBLIC EDUCATION...LET'S JUST BAN ALL BOOKS AND BRAINWASH CHILDREN!

— “CRE a hot topic for state rep. candidates,” by Jim Sullivan, Daily News of Newburyport: “Newburyport Democrat Dawne Shand and Salisbury Republican C.J. Fitzwater are running in the Nov. 8 election to succeed former state Rep. Jim Kelcourse, R-Amesbury. … On Thursday, roughly 100 people attended an educational forum hosted by Citizens for Responsible Education, which has been critical of social-emotional learning, at the Newburyport Elks Lodge. The event also drew roughly 50 people who protested across the street. [‘Local Pulse’ with host Joe] DiBiase asked the candidates if they thought national issues have been negatively intruding on local politics lately and what they believed they could do to bring people back together. Shand said she disagreed with Fitzwater’s suggestion that all sides of the issue should have a seat at the table.”

A message from Delta Dental of Massachusetts:

KENNEDY COMPOUND

— “New book contains Chappaquiddick revelation from Ted Kennedy confidant,” by Mike Damiano, Boston Globe: “Ted Kennedy gave varying explanations for his behavior in the hours after his infamous car crash on Chappaquiddick Island. He said he’d been trying to get help as fast as he could. He said he was concussed and couldn’t think straight. He said he’d been unable to muster the ‘moral strength’ to admit what had happened. But more than five decades after the accident that claimed the life of 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne, a new biography of the political scion and longtime Massachusetts senator offers new evidence that Kennedy sought to cover up his actions that night.”

— “Alito Assured Ted Kennedy in 2005 of Respect for Roe v. Wade, Diary Says,” by John A. Farrell, New York Times: “Senator Edward M. Kennedy looked skeptically at the federal judge. It was Nov. 15, 2005, and Samuel A. Alito Jr., who was seeking Senate confirmation for his nomination to the Supreme Court, had just assured Mr. Kennedy in a meeting in his Senate office that he respected the legal precedent of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 court decision that legalized abortion. … But Mr. Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat and longtime supporter of abortion rights, remained dubious that November day that he could trust the conservative judge not to overturn the ruling.”

FROM THE DELEGATION

— WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: Rep. Ayanna Pressley was among the 30 members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus who called on President Joe Biden on Monday to pair economic and military aid to Ukraine with formal diplomatic talks with Russia, citing the increasing risk of nuclear war, my POLITICO colleagues report . Rep. Jake Auchincloss, a former Marine, called the letter “an olive branch to a war criminal.”

FROM THE 413

— “‘Saving lives and helping women’: The diocese’s 40 Days for Life campaign,” by Emily Thurlow, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “On Monday morning, with umbrellas in hand, the [Zedonises] stood on the sidewalk in front of the Western Massachusetts Health Center of Springfield, operated by the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, encouraging passersby to pray to end abortion. … The Zedonises were one of more than 20 people who were bundled up with blankets and hooded jackets lining the street in downtown as part of the Diocese of Springfield’s 40 Days for Life fall campaign. … This is the first time the campaign has been held since Roe v. Wade was overturned, though the effort has taken place annually since 2007.”

JOIN WOMEN RULE THURSDAY FOR A TALK WITH DEPARTING MEMBERS OF CONGRESS: A historic wave of retirements is hitting Congress, including several prominent Democratic women such as Illinois Rep. Cheri Bustos, House Democrats’ former campaign chief. What is driving their departures? Join POLITICO on Oct. 27 for “The Exit Interview,” a virtual event that will feature a conversation with departing members where they'll explain why they decided to leave office and what challenges face their parties ahead. REGISTER HERE .

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “Nation’s Report Card spells out urgency for local, state leaders to address learning losses,” by Christopher Huffaker, Boston Globe: “Reacting to the worst results on a key assessment of math and reading skills in a decade or more, Massachusetts education leaders vowed on Monday to make up for learning lost during the pandemic and close longstanding achievement gaps for high-needs students. But education advocates questioned whether local and state leaders were moving fast enough to address students’ learning losses and spend the billions in federal relief funds intended to combat the issue.”

— “Mass. children with RSV sent to hospitals in other states amid capacity strain,” by Sarah Betancourt, GBH News: “Hospitals in the Greater Boston area are seeing an unusually early onslaught of respiratory syncytial virus, known as RSV. The slew of cases is filling up their emergency rooms, clogging up pediatric transfers and even causing some children to be sent across state lines for care.”

— “Worcester City Council to discuss removing Christopher Columbus statue,” by Kiernan Dunlop, MassLive: “A city council discussion about renaming Plantation Street in Worcester has revived the debate over removing the Christopher Columbus Statue in front of Union Station.”

— “For labor trafficked immigrants, T-visas are a life-saving but flawed relief,” by Sarah Betancourt and Jenifer B. McKim, GBH News: “The GBH News Center for Investigative Reporting spoke to nearly a dozen people in Massachusetts who say they were victims of forced labor, having to sneak down the back stairs to escape or call 911 for help. An ongoing GBH series on labor trafficking has found that those victims are often overlooked and their abusers go unpunished. Victims of labor trafficking — even more than sex trafficking victims — lack sufficient government services, according to a recent federal report on human trafficking. And immigration advocates say T-visa applications can take too long to process, too many applications are denied and there’s a lack of knowledge about who can even qualify for them.”

MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

BOLDUC IS A REPUBLICAN EXTREMIST & IT'S UNCLEAR THAT NEW HAMPSHIRE IS READY FOR THAT.

— NOT TAKING ANYTHING FOR GRANITE: Major Republican super PACs are withdrawing their money from New Hampshire. But a new Emerson College poll adds to others that show the race between Republican Don Bolduc and Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan within the margin of error. Hassan, campaigning with Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) on Monday, told reporters “this has always been a close race, it’s going to be a close race.”

— More: “US Sen. Booker visits New Hampshire to support Hassan, first-in-nation primary,” by Adam Sexton, WMUR.

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HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

SPOTTED — Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts at Head of the Charles on Saturday, per a Playbook tipster.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to former state Rep. Jim Cantwell, who serves as state director to Sen. Ed Markey. Happy belated to Conrad Lucas, who celebrated Sunday.

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