Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Warren kicks off her Senate reelection bid

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Warren kicks off her Senate reelection bid

‘ELIZABETH DOESN’T F— AROUND’ — Elizabeth Warren is running for reelection, really.

The state’s senior senator made her third-term bid official in a two-plus-minute video posted to social media this morning. In it, Warren touts her accomplishments — a corporate minimum tax, over-the-counter hearing aids and canceling student loan debt (which remains stalled in court) among them. And she sets the tone for a punchy campaign by including quick testimonials from several people, including a man who used the aforementioned bleeped expletive in the first 15 seconds.

She also lays out a progressive vision for the next six years that would largely require Democrats to retake and maintain full control in Washington to even begin to accomplish.

“I first ran for Senate because I saw how the system is rigged for the rich and the powerful and against everyone else,” Warren says in the clip.

“Now, I’m running for Senate again because there’s a lot more we’ve got to do: Pass a wealth tax. Make child care affordable. Protect our coastal communities. And build a 21st-century transportation system across all of Massachusetts," she said. "Oh — and like I’ve been saying for years — put stricter rules on banks so they don’t crash and hurt working people.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren at a recent hearing on Capitol Hill. | Francis Chung/POLITICO

Warren has said she’s running for reelection for the better part of two years now. But her official announcement should go a long way in helping quell the persistent rumors that she might forgo such a bid to run for president again, take another shot at a Cabinet position, or, at 73, just step aside.

Warren hasn’t waged a campaign in Massachusetts since finishing third in the state’s 2020 presidential primary. And recent polls show mixed messages about her standing here.

A MassINC Polling Group survey from early February showed fewer than half of Massachusetts residents want Warren to seek another term. But support for her reelection bid is at 69 percent among Democrats. And a late-February Change Research poll conducted for Northwind Strategies shows Warren’s favorability at a whopping 83 percent among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents. Both surveys were done before bank failures put Warren and her push for stronger oversight squarely back in the spotlight.

There’s no shortage of ambitious Democrats in this deep-blue state who dream of landing in Warren’s seat. But her launch video includes a cast of supporting characters that would be intimidating to potential challengers. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who’s widely expected to be a contender the next time a Senate seat opens up here, and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, a Warren protégé, both appear. So does Sen. Ed Markey, who says he’s running again in 2026.

Warren faces only nominal opposition at this point, from an Athol Republican-turned-Libertarian . Republicans are hunting for someone to challenge her. But that’s also likely to be a long shot with two of the GOP’s strongest potential contenders, former Gov. Charlie Baker and former Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, cashing in in the private sector after declining to seek third terms.

GOOD MONDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Warren is following up her announcement by touring Nurtury Early Education in Boston's Mission Hill at 10 a.m., where she'll highlight legislation that would expand access to affordable, high-quality early education and care.

TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll testify about their housing secretariat legislation at 11 a.m. in the State House’s Gardner Auditorium. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu speaks at the BAA’s Boston Marathon presenting partner announcement at 9:30 a.m. at 100 Federal St., the 2023 Main Streets Conference at 10:30 a.m. at the Boston Marriott Copley Place and is on WBUR’s “Radio Boston” at 11 a.m.

Tips? Scoops? Running for reelection? Email me: lkashinsky@politico.com .

DATELINE BEACON HILL

— THE GLOVES COME OFF: You didn’t really think Democrats would put aside their differences just because they have full control over Beacon Hill again, did you?

Diana DiZoglio’s attempt to audit the Legislature could head to court after House Speaker Ron Mariano sent a scathing letter back to the auditor dismissing her attempt to probe the chambers in which she previously served. DiZoglio said she’s “not asking for permission” to look into the Legislature. But she is asking lawmakers for more money for her office. And Mariano reminded her who holds the purse strings during an interview on WCVB’s “On the Record” that aired Sunday.

He didn’t stop there. Mariano accused DiZoglio of spending taxpayers’ money for political gain and implied that her first statewide win had gone to her head. “Maybe she thinks she’s uber-powerful, that she can audit anything,” Mariano said.

But it would be a miscalculation on Mariano’s part to think threatening DiZoglio would get her to back down from a fight.

DiZoglio called the “level of pushback” from legislative leaders “deeply concerning” in a statement to Playbook. “If the Speaker is as concerned as I am regarding taxpayer dollars, then instead of gaslighting, he should prevent the issue from having to go to court in the first place by welcoming this audit,” she said.

Mariano is also throwing up potential roadblocks to Gov. Maura Healey’s agenda. He’s “not sure yet” whether the state can afford her free community college plan. And he’s again striking a worried tone about balancing the state’s books.

“We have to begin to be a little bit careful with how we spend our money,” Mariano said. “As someone watching the state finances, I’m concerned. We have an inflation rate that no one seems to be able to control. We have an appetite for spending because of federal programs that are getting knocked out.”

That sense of foreboding now hangs over a key week on Beacon Hill for Healey. The governor goes before lawmakers this morning to implore them to approve her housing secretariat. And her tax-relief package heads before another legislative committee on Tuesday.

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PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

— “Former Long Island Rail Road president at top of list for MBTA general manager’s job, people familiar with matter say,” by Taylor Dolven and Samantha J. Gross, Boston Globe: “Governor Maura Healey administration’s high stakes search for a new general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is closing in on Phillip Eng, the former president of the Long Island commuter rail system, according to two people familiar with the matter. The people with knowledge of the decision said the administration had zeroed in on Eng and could make the announcement as soon as Monday.”

— “MBTA boosts pension benefits amid hiring difficulties,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald.

FROM THE HUB

— “Landlords rarely hike the rent by 10 percent. So why do they hate Mayor Wu’s cap proposal?” by Andrew Brinker, Boston Globe: “Even in a year like this one, when fuel and maintenance costs are putting pressure on his bottom line, [Allen] Hebert said he can’t imagine hiking his tenants’ rent more than 3 or 4 percent. … But there’s only one way he knows how to describe Mayor Michelle Wu’s rent control proposal: ‘A disaster.’ That’s not because of the proposal itself, which would allow landlords like Hebert to raise rents by as much as 10 percent a year, depending on inflation. But rather, it’s what Hebert fears — knows, he said — will follow: the kind of blunt force rent control regime that squeezed landlords in Boston and neighboring cities decades ago.”

— FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: 10th Suffolk state representative candidate Robert Orthman is being endorsed by fellow Democrat and first-term state Rep. Samantha Montaño , his campaign said.

THE CLARK CAUCUS

— “Keller @ Large: Rep. Katherine Clark says U.S. 'way behind' helping families with child care,” by Jon Keller, WBZ: “‘I don't understand why we don't have Republican support. This isn't a Democrat issue. This is an issue that families around the Commonwealth, around Massachusetts are facing, small businesses and large are facing. It is a rural issue, a suburban issue, and an urban issue,’ Clark told Keller.”

FROM THE 413

— “Easthampton councilor Meunier has missed half of the council’s meetings since being sworn in last July,” by Emily Thurlow, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “In nearly nine months since being sworn in as a city councilor, David Meunier has missed eight of 16 council meetings. No other councilor has missed more than two in that timeframe.”

— “State sends rapid respond team to a Pittsfield nursing home after COVID outbreak hits more than 60 residents, staff,” by Heather Bellow, Berkshire Eagle.

— “Massachusetts State Senate President Karen Spilka visits the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, talks rural aid,” by Sten Spinella, Berkshire Eagle.

WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD BE READING

— FROM THE OPINION PAGES: “Karyn Polito the latest to cash in on public clout,” by Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald: “Three months after leaving office, the ex-lieutenant governor landed a lucrative gig on the board of environmental services and cleanup company Clean Harbors, which is heavily regulated by the state. Polito’s appointment comes just weeks after a fire broke out in several trailers full of chemicals at Clean Harbors’ facility in Braintree, spewing toxic materials into the neighborhood and outraging local residents, who were ordered to stay in their homes and close their windows.”

— “'Not a pleasant situation': Weymouth mayor, town Republicans at odds over appointment,” by Jessica Trufant, Patriot Ledger: “Mayor Robert Hedlund and members of the Weymouth Republican Town Committee are at odds over how to proceed after the town council rejected all three of the committee’s nominees for the board of registrars. The board is responsible for ensuring elections are conducted appropriately and is made up of two Republicans and two Democrats.”

— “DAs frequently using dangerousness hearings,” by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: “In the fiscal year ending June 30, Massachusetts district attorneys requested so-called 58A hearings in 5,530 cases before the Superior Court, Boston municipal and district courts and juvenile courts, data from the Trial Court shows. That’s a more than 17% increase from fiscal year 2019, the data shows. Statewide, prosecutors are on track to exceed those numbers this fiscal year, with 2,182 requests reported in the first two quarters.”

— “How Massachusetts’ new DEP commissioner will bring ‘transparency and equity’ to the agency,” by Dharna Noor, Boston Globe.

— “‘I’ve learned that things have a cost.’ Meet the migrant children working long hours in factories and fish plants across Mass.,” by Katie Johnston, Boston Globe.

— “Teachers, city reach an agreement after 9 months of bargaining in Quincy,” by Mary Whitfill, Patriot Ledger.

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MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

— “Chris Christie ‘trying to figure out’ if there’s a pathway to beating Trump, DeSantis,” by Paul Steinhauser, Fox News: “Former Republican Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey said his trip on Monday to New Hampshire … will help him decide whether to ‘get into the battle’ and launch a 2024 GOP presidential campaign.”

— TRAIL MARKERS: Christie is at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at 5 p.m. Former U.N. ambassador and past South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is at Dover's Restoration Church at 6:30 p.m.

MEANWHILE IN RHODE ISLAND

— “RI's struggling GOP chooses newcomer Joe Powers over ex-chairman to lead party,” by Katherine Gregg, Providence Journal: “With party activists on their feet chanting ‘Joe, Joe, Joe,’ the triumphant Powers headed to the stage to take the gavel from his predecessor, Sue Cienki, and reiterate his pledge to usher in a better day for today's GOP, which currently holds no congressional seats or statewide offices and holds only 14 of 113 legislative seats.”

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

TRANSITIONS — Harleen Gambhir is now counsel to Sen. Elizabeth Warren. She most recently was in the litigation group at Elias Law Group.

— Letise LaFeir is The New England Aquarium’s first-ever chief conservation and stewardship officer.

— Jon Feinman has been appointed to the President's Council on Sports, Fitness, & Nutrition.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to former House Speaker Bob DeLeo, Charlotte Peyser and Matt Siegel .

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