Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Not taking anything for Granite

Friday, November 4, 2022

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Not taking anything for Granite

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NORTH OF THE BORDER — Remember when everyone wrote off New Hampshire?

Well, it certainly doesn't seem that way if you’ve turned on a TV in the Boston media market recently. But after Granite Staters in September nominated a slate of hard-right, pro-Donald Trump Republicans as their congressional nominees, vulnerable Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan suddenly didn’t seem so vulnerable anymore. Neither did Democratic Reps. Chris Pappas and Annie Kuster.

Fast forward to November and Hassan is either trailing Republican Don Bolduc by a slim margin or up by 10 points depending on the poll. Her campaign ignored the latter in fundraising emails yesterday — a comfortable lead doesn’t tend to inspire as many donations. And Hassan has to contend with Republican groups pouring millions of dollars into the Granite State to boost Bolduc after initially retreating from him. Democrats’ Senate Majority PAC added another $1.2 million this week in return.

Incumbent Democratic Senate candidate Maggie Hassan speaks to media after casting her vote in the New Hampshire primary at Newfields Town Hall on Sept. 13, 2022, in Newfields, N.H. | Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images

Now the cavalry is coming. Sen. Elizabeth Warren will campaign with Hassan at the University of New Hampshire in Durham today. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh stumps with Hassan in Manchester and Nashua on Saturday. Pappas — who House Democrats’ campaign arm flagged as a “red alert” candidate as a recent poll showed him trailing former Trump White House press aide Karoline Leavitt — joins them in Manchester. Kuster, who leads her Republican rival, Bob Burns, in what’s considered a safer seat, joins them in Nashua. On the Republican side, Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and ambassador to the U.N., returns to New Hampshire on Sunday for her third stint campaiging for Bolduc since the primary.

And yet the biggest names in both parties continue to stay away . Vice President Kamala Harris flew in and out of Massachusetts on Wednesday with barely a nod toward New Hampshire. President Joe Biden — who Hassan has made a point of criticizing over his administration’s handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan and other issues — hasn’t set foot in the state since April, though first lady Jill Biden was there last weekend.

Don Bolduc, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in New Hampshire, listens to a question as he campaigns at the Auburn Tavern, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022, in Auburn, N.H. | Mary Schwalm/AP Photo

A slew of top-tier Republicans have now endorsed Bolduc , but few have actually campaigned with him. As of Thursday night, Haley was the only one on the schedule for this weekend. Trump has endorsed all three Republican congressional candidates but hasn’t campaigned here. Gov. Ron DeSantis, another potential 2024 contender, sent out a fundraising email for Bolduc but is crisscrossing Florida this weekend for his reelection bid. Other familiar faces in New Hampshire — former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) — have also only endorsed from afar.

While Republicans ride an economy-driven surge ahead of Election Day, Hassan retains advantages in other areas. Bolduc falsely claimed the 2020 election was stolen and then reversed course, prompting Trump to ding him for doing so in his endorsement. Hassan has hammered Bolduc on that and his self-described “pro-life” views on abortion throughout the campaign. Bolduc has tried to blunt that argument by repeatedly saying he wouldn’t vote for a federal abortion ban if elected. Trump lost New Hampshire in both of his presidential runs and polling shows majorities of Granite State voters support abortion rights.

GOOD FRIDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Enough about New Hampshire for now. What down-ballot races are you watching here in the Bay State ahead of Tuesday? Email me: lkashinsky@politico.com .

TODAY — is the final day of early in-person voting in the general election; turnout stands at nearly 18 percent. Gov. Charlie Baker attends the Boston Semper Fidelis Society’s Marine Corps 247th birthday celebration at noon at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu attends a BPD academy recruit graduation at 11 a.m. at BCEC. Sen. Ed Markey celebrates the swearing-in of new AmeriCorps members at 10 a.m. at the Reggie Lewis Center, speaks at Northeastern University at noon and campaigns with down-ballot candidates in Brockton at 1:45 p.m.

THIS WEEKEND — Former Rep. Joe Kennedy III and strategist Wilnelia Rivera are on WBZ’s “Keller @ Large” at 8:30 a.m. Sunday. Wu is on WCVB’s “On the Record” at 11 a.m. Sunday. Republican nominees Geoff Diehl, Leah Cole Allen and Jay McMahon hold a rally featuring ex-senator and former ambassador Scott Brown at 4 p.m. Sunday at Mechanics Hall in Worcester.

SCOTT BROWN? KOCH SOCK PUPPET WHO LOST ELECTIONS TO 2 WOMEN? THAT IS DESPERATION!

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THE LATEST NUMBERS

— “5,569 confirmed cases and 69 deaths in a week. See the latest COVID-19 data from Mass.,” by Peter Bailey-Wells, Ryan Huddle, Daigo Fujiwara and Amanda Kaufman, Boston Globe.

— “Town-by-town COVID-19 data in Massachusetts,” by Ryan Huddle and Peter Bailey-Wells, Boston Globe.

DATELINE BEACON HILL

— “Legislature sends $3.8 billion spending bill to Baker. Here’s what is — and isn’t — included,” by Samantha J. Gross and Matt Stout, Boston Globe: “Legislative leaders cited economic ‘uncertainty’ in cutting the tax relief measures, as well as the fact that state officials are already sending nearly $3 billion in refunds to taxpayers after the windfall of tax collections triggered a 1986 tax-cap law. The lack of tax relief in the bill drew the ire of Senate Republicans on Thursday, though even in an informal session — where a single dissenting vote can kill legislation — no one impeded the bill’s passage. … There were other notable exclusions. A provision that would have resurrected the option for communities to reinstate happy-hour drink specials, long banned in Massachusetts, didn’t make the cut.”

— IN HIS WORDS: Gov. Charlie Baker had the world at his fingertips long before cell phones made that possible. When the Harvard Square bar he worked at in college shut down on Saturday nights, Baker would walk to the nearby newsstand and pick up the Sunday papers. “I would take my pile of information home with me, make a sandwich, grab a beer and dive into them before I went to bed,” Baker said as part of his Godkin Lecture at Harvard’s Institute of Politics. “I literally thought I was getting a look at the next day’s news almost before it happened.”

Things have changed since then — and the “explosion of information” fueled by technology is both good and bad, Baker argued. “All this self-selecting of news and endless information has been driving the bulwark of the two political parties to their extremes,” he said. But, Baker argued — with references to David Bowie and Ted Lasso — that most people want “less bombast, less sniping, less blaming, less fighting.” The outgoing governor, who declined to run for a third term this year, called on people to “be more tolerant” and explore opposing viewpoints, not “ban them.”

Baker also went on at length about how the polarization of the state Republican Party “bothers” him. "But I don’t look at the voters of Massachusetts generally and see that kind of polarization," he said. "I just don’t." Watch Baker’s speech .

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FROM THE HUB

— “Boston’s 2030 climate goal is out of reach, a new report finds,” by Sabrina Shankman, Boston Globe: “Boston is so far behind on climate progress that cutting greenhouse emissions in half by the critical milepost of 2030 is already out of reach, a new assessment has found, and reaching the goal of net zero emissions by 2050 will require a decades-long, all-in effort. The report blamed a decade or more of stalled action at the city, state, and federal levels, and said that dramatic changes must now begin.”

— “Archdiocese, Dorchester residents rebuke city councilor’s anti-Protestant remark,” by Peter Kadzis and Saraya Wintersmith, GBH News: “Wednesday, during debate over plans to establish new city voting districts, Dorchester Councilor Frank Baker plumbed political depths not visited in recent memory when he suggested that the new voting maps were part of an anti-Catholic conspiracy orchestrated by redistricting chair Liz Breadon of Brighton. Breadon, a Protestant, was born 63 years ago in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, in Northern Ireland. … But local Catholic leaders have spoken out against his anti-Protestant remark. An official from the Archdiocese of Boston issued a statement rejecting Baker’s comment, while also recommending a longer redistricting process.”

BALLOT BATTLES

— “Ballot Question 1: Gov. Baker says millionaires tax is ‘unnecessary’,” by Alison Kuznitz, MassLive: “Angered by the omission of tax cuts from the economic development bill that finally emerged from negotiations, Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito urged supporters in an email Thursday morning to vote no on Ballot Question 1, which would impose a controversial 4% surtax on incomes exceeding $1 million if it advances at the polls on Election Day this coming Tuesday.”

— “Confused by all the ‘millionaires tax’ ads? So were we. So we fact-checked a whole bunch of them,” by Dana Gerber and Shirley Leung, Boston Globe: “Each side has released at least eight ads on TV and social media. Proponents proclaim passing Question 1 will raise $2 billion for education and transportation, and that only the richest will pay the extra tax. Opponents, however, warn that the measure would nearly double the income tax rate for ‘tens of thousands’ of homeowners and small business owners, and the Legislature can’t be trusted with spending the new revenue.”

A message from Delta Dental of Massachusetts:

YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS

— MONEY MATTERS: Outside groups have been pouring money into down-ballot races here for weeks. Now some of that money is flowing into the governor’s race.

A super PAC funded by the political arms of two major unions, IBEW Local 103 and Liuna, has spent $256,042 on television ads supporting Maura Healey, campaign finance filings show. The 60-second ad paid for by the Building Massachusetts for a Better Tomorrow IEPAC is partly a pitch for responsible development and partly a pitch for Healey. On the Republican side, the Conservative Political Action Coalition’s Action PAC has spent a much smaller $3,775 on radio ads, according to ad tracker AdImpact.

— “Andrea Campbell could make history as the next attorney general,” by Ivy Scott, Boston Globe: “With an election a week away, Campbell is poised to make history as the state’s first Black female attorney general, with polls showing her far ahead of her Republican opponent. She campaigned on a promise to reform the justice system and expand economic opportunity, both issues that underpinned her legal career and tenure as president of the Boston City Council.”

— “Auditor Candidate Pledges ‘Investigation’ into Suburbs’ Affordable Housing Blockades,” by James Sanna, Banker & Tradesman: “Anthony Amore, the Republican candidate for state auditor, is pledging to hold suburbs’ feet to the fire for routinely rejecting affordable housing projects if he’s elected.”

— “Youth voters have been turning out in historic numbers. Will they do so again in Massachusetts?” by Hannah Reale and Tori Bedford, GBH News: “In Massachusetts, young voters recently have been the deciding factor in pushing progressive politicians into federal office. But the state’s legislative elections are the least competitive in the country, and have been for four election cycles, which leaves some struggling with when and how to make their voices heard.”

— “Showdown for Worcester County sheriff nears between Evangelidis, Fontaine,” by Craig S. Semon, Telegram & Gazette: “As he runs for his third six-year term on Tuesday, [Lewis ‘Lew’] Evangelidis is facing his first challenger in 12 years, Democratic candidate David M. Fontaine, a Worcester native who now lives in Paxton.”

FROM THE DELEGATION

— “With the House possibly poised to flip Republican, where does that leave the all-Democratic Mass. delegation?” by Tal Kopan, Boston Globe: “[I]f Republicans take control of the House in Tuesday’s midterm elections, as many polls indicate, [House Ways and Means Chair Richard] Neal’s job may grow much less enjoyable and definitely less powerful. Massachusetts’ all-Democratic congressional delegation, chock full of major Washington players, could face the same fate, particularly if the Senate also flips to GOP control. Neal and several others would lose their perches chairing committees and subcommittees, forfeiting much of their ability to shape legislation. Such a shift, which can come with the added indignity of less opulent offices and a smaller staff, often prompts veteran members of Congress to retire. But Neal and others in the state’s delegation show no signs they plan to leave if the election doesn’t go the Democrats’ way.”

— “McGovern, Sossa-Paquette face voters in race for Worcester Congressional seat,” by Marco Cartolano, Telegram & Gazette.

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PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

— “Female MBTA employees alleging workplace harassment met with GM,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “A group of female MBTA employees who alleged workplace harassment, discrimination and unfair treatment had a ‘productive’ meeting with the T’s general manager, but are worried that his resignation will put an end to that progress. The women, who work in the T’s Engineering and Maintenance Track Department, met with General Manager Steve Poftak on Monday to discuss ongoing issues that they say have not been addressed by the agency’s Office of Diversity and Civil Rights, or worse, have resulted in retaliation.”

— “MBTA still short four $103K subway dispatchers amid service cuts,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “The MBTA has hired 11 subway dispatchers, but needs another four before it reconsiders service cuts that were made in June. The post pays $103,667 with a $10,000 signing bonus.”

DAY IN COURT

— “Former State Police union head convicted of taking kickbacks,” by Tonya Alanez, Boston Globe: “In a trial that spanned nearly a month, a federal jury on Thursday convicted the former leader of the Massachusetts State Police union and a lobbyist of sweeping charges for running the bargaining unit like a racketeering enterprise and enriching themselves from its coffers through fraud and deceit. Dana Pullman, 61, had no reaction as the verdict was announced, finding that he took kickbacks totaling $41,250 from a union lobbyist and diverted thousands of dollars from the union for personal expenses, including flowers, gifts, a Miami Beach vacation, and meals at upscale restaurants with a girlfriend.”

— “Former prisoners allege sexual assault at the state's prison for women in Framingham,” by James Bennett II, GBH News: “Two former inmates at the only women’s prison in the state, Massachusetts Correctional Institution Framingham, filed a lawsuit Monday alleging sexual abuse by former guard Melvis Romero. Other defendants include the state Department of Correction, healthcare provider Wellpath and several employees of MCI Framingham.”

— "Former state official wins $820,000 in lawsuit against Deval Patrick, state government," by Jeremy C. Fox, Boston Globe: "A nearly eight-year legal battle has ended in victory for a former chairwoman of the state’s Sex Offender Registry Board who had alleged that former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick wrongfully terminated her in 2014 and then defamed her in comments to reporters. Saundra Edwards won damages of more than $820,000 Wednesday in her lawsuit filed against Patrick and the Commonwealth in Essex Superior Court, according to court records."

IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN

— “Groups urge Baker to shift solar subsidies,” by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: “A coalition of environmental groups is calling on the Baker administration to put the brakes on state subsidies for large-scale solar power projects, which they say are destroying farmlands and forests. In a petition to Gov. Charlie Baker, the groups ask the governor to set a statewide moratorium on tax incentives and other subsidies for industrial solar projects and redirect the money to solar projects on rooftops and existing infrastructure.”

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “Yvonne Spicer comes up short in bid to become town manager in Stoughton,” by Jesse Collings, MetroWest Daily News: “Former Mayor Yvonne Spicer has come up short in her bid to become Stoughton's next town manager. Spicer lost out to Thomas Calter, who was unanimously selected from among four finalists Tuesday night by the Stoughton Select Board. … Spicer is currently teaching courses in public policy at UMass Boston, as well as at the Ben Franklin Institute in Boston. She said she is keeping her career options open, and would consider future positions in government.”

A message from Delta Dental of Massachusetts:

Delta Dental of Massachusetts connects with communities statewide to highlight the importance of oral health. Your oral health is a key predictor of overall health — with direct links to diabetes, heart disease, mental health, and other medical conditions. So, this fall, remind your loved ones – and yourself – to show your mouth some love. Get back to the dentist and remember to practice at-home preventive oral health habits like brushing and flossing regularly. Because the key to good health is right under your nose. Discover the connection between oral and overall health at ExpressYourHealthMA.org.

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

TRANSITIONS — Greenough has appointed Nikki Festa O’Brien as its new president.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to state Rep. Ken Gordon, Michael Fontneau, NYT’s Kit Seelye, Julie Siegel, Morgan Mohr, Jean Roseme and Avi Berkowitz.

HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND — to James Melcher, Jeremy Ravinsky, Steven Bachner, Richard Parker, Alyssa Stone and Meryl Holt Silverman, who celebrate Saturday, and to Matt Kraunelis, who celebrates Sunday.

NEW HORSE RACE ALERT: THE BIRD APP — The Bay State Banner's Yawu Miller and hosts Jennifer Smith and Lisa Kashinsky pick out what to watch in next week's election. Legislata's Chris Oates does a deep dive on #mapoli Twitter. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and SoundCloud .

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 .

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