Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Biden's Bay State boost

Tuesday, December 5, 2023

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Biden's Bay State boost

MONEY AND MANPOWER — Joe Biden is getting a boost from the Bay State in more ways than one today.

As the president hits the fundraising circuit here , a pair of Democratic operatives are attempting to round up potentially thousands of party activists to aid the Biden write-in effort taking shape across state lines.

To recap: Biden didn’t put his name on the primary ballot in New Hampshire amid a spat between state and national Democrats over the party’s 2024 nominating calendar. Biden and the Democratic National Committee wanted South Carolina, a more diverse state that helped propel Biden to the nomination in 2020, to vote first. New Hampshire was supposed to follow on a shared date with Nevada.

But New Hampshire state law dictates that its presidential primary be held a week before any similar contest. And Republicans who control state government there refused to change it, setting the primary date for Jan. 23 — more than a week before South Carolina’s Democratic contest.

Biden’s Granite State allies are now running a write-in campaign on his behalf, and standing up a super PAC to help . Still, even for these seasoned operatives, it’s a tall order to convince potentially tens of thousands of people to come to the polls to write in the president’s name — spelled accurately, with the bubble filled in and all — and avoid a potentially embarrassing early, though unofficial, loss to Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) or self-help guru Marianne Williamson.

Enter Joe Caiazzo and Nick Clemons , two local operatives who’ve worked on presidential campaigns in the region and on Rep. Joe Kennedy III’s failed 2020 Senate bid. The duo — alums of Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton's presidential campaigns, respectively — are now volunteering to organize Massachusetts Democrats to stand outside New Hampshire polling places on primary day and help with other educational efforts around the Biden write-in.

“Insider party politics aside, the stakes are astronomically high,” the pair wrote in an email blasted out widely to Massachusetts Democratic activists Monday and obtained by Playbook. “Massachusetts Democrats have a long tradition of helping candidates in New Hampshire. We know that a good volunteer base from down here can be a difference maker up there.”

Though Biden may have shunned New Hampshire’s primary , he’s still banking — literally and figuratively — on support from Massachusetts.

The president is slated for three fundraisers today: one hosted by former U.S. Ambassador Alan Solomont; one with Jack Connors, a Democrat who chaired GOP Gov. Charlie Baker’s 2018 reelection campaign; and evening concert with Grammy-winner James Taylor. MassDems Chair Steve Kerrigan said the state party is also “ready to help [Biden] in his reelection in any way we can, in New Hampshire, in Massachusetts or anywhere.”

Gov. Maura Healey is greeting Biden on the tarmac at Logan Airport around 11:30 a.m. But Healey, who is on Biden’s national campaign advisory board, won’t be with him all day — she has her own fundraiser to get to in Worcester in the evening.

President Joe Biden is returning to Massachusetts for a fundraising swing days after spending the Thanksgiving holiday on Nantucket. | Stephanie Scarbrough/AP

GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Pro-Palestinian groups are planning to protest Biden outside of the Shubert Theater where he and Taylor are holding their concert.

“Genocide Joe is not welcome in Boston,” reads the flier for the picket and rally to demand an end to U.S. aid for Israel that was posted on social media by the Boston branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. The group was among several that protested Vice President Kamala Harris’ visit to Boston last month over the administration’s response to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

TODAY — Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll attends the United Way of Massachusetts Bay’s Real Estate & Building Industry Celebration at 5:30 p.m. at the Omni Boston Seaport. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu holds a press conference on the new BPPA contract at 9:15 a.m. at City Hall and speaks at a Meet Boston event at 4:30 p.m. at Big Night Live.

Tips? Scoops? Email us: lkashinsky@politico.com and kgarrity@politico.com .

DATELINE BEACON HILL

SIGNED, SEALED AND DELIVERED — House Democrats converged on Beacon Hill Monday to put an end to Republicans stalling a roughly $3 billion supplemental budget over concerns with the ruling party’s approach to managing the migrant and shelter crises.

After three days of Republicans blocking the bill by questioning whether there was a quorum in the chamber, House Democrats powered past their objections to pass the spending bill, 105-14. It later cleared the Senate on a 20-3 vote that broke on party lines.

With $250 million in critical funding for the state’s shelter program, $400 million to fund union contracts for state employees and disaster relief on the line, Gov. Maura Healey signed the bill just 18 minutes after it hit her desk .

But the finger-pointing hasn’t stopped. In the House, Republicans continued to castigate Democrats for failing to act earlier on the bill. “If you want to see why this didn’t happen in a timely fashion, grab a mirror and look at it,” Minority Leader Brad Jones said of the majority party.

“Maybe we should,” House Speaker Ron Mariano replied when asked by a reporter about the remark. But he also turned blame back on the Republicans for holding up the supp. “I don’t know what they hoped to accomplish. Obviously, nothing much has changed, except that the checks will go out three days later.”

Across the third floor, Senate President Karen Spilka and Minority Leader Bruce Tarr addressed reporters together in a pointed show of bipartisanship. Both knocked the House for dragging out the process of even getting the supplemental budget to the negotiating stage. Healey filed the bill in September. But it didn’t come up for a vote in the House, which had to act first, until early November.

Spilka later told Playbook that she moved quickly to avoid a procedural squabble with Republicans in her chamber. First, she contacted members to ensure she’d have a quorum. Then she called Tarr “and started talking to him about what were the issues and how can we work together to get this done, because the bill is critically important for so many people?”

Healey’s fast action means tens of thousands of state workers who’ve been waiting for their raises will see bigger paychecks in time for the holidays. But because of what Senate Ways and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues described as delays “down the hall,” they likely won’t see the retroactive pay they’re owed until early January.

— “Tax revenue will likely fall short of forecasts by more than half a billion,” by Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald: “After tax takings for 2023 came in $2 billion under the previous year and with the global economy nowhere closer to stability, policymakers did not seem the least bit surprised to learn Massachusetts will likely experience a further revenue downturn this fiscal year.”

PARTY POLITICS

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is headlining a fundraiser for the MassGOP on Jan. 11 in Boston, the latest in a string of high-profile Republicans helping to pad the cash-strapped party’s coffers — and, in some cases, promote their presidential bids.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson is booked for a fundraiser on Wednesday, The Messenger’s Stephanie Murray first reported. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu is the headliner for a holiday party at the Lenox Hotel next Tuesday, according to invitations obtained by Playbook. Tickets run up to $1,000 for all three.

Christie and Hutchinson are also cutting the party $10,000 checks to submit their names for the state’s presidential primary. Candidates can pay the MassGOP $20,000 for ballot access, a fee that’s halved if they hold an event with the party. There are other — and cheaper — ways to get on the ballot. But this one engenders goodwill with party activists and donors. DeSantis also chose this route , appearing at a MassGOP event in October.

STEPPING UP — Healey is taking steps to raise her national profile as she prepares to enter her second year in office. She’s going to be next chair of the Democratic Governors Association’s Women Governor’s Fund, leading fundraising efforts to help elect, you probably guessed it, Democratic women governors. It’s familiar work for Healey, who co-chaired the Democratic Association of Attorneys General in 2020 and 2021. More from NBC News .

BALLOT BATTLES

IT’S OFFICIAL — A campaign to get a question on the 2024 ballot that would end the “sub-minimum” wage for tipped workers has completed the signature certification process with the secretary of state’s office, One Fair Wage, the group behind the effort, is announcing this morning. The campaign wants to see service workers earn a “full minimum wage with tips on top.”

ROE FALLOUT

COVERAGE FOR CONTRACEPTION — Healey is one of a handful of governors urging the Biden administration to make sure a newly approved over-the-counter birth control pill is covered by private health insurance.

MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS

— “Saugus migrant population on the decline,” by Charlie McKenna, ItemLive: “The number of migrants living in hotels and motels along Route 1 has dramatically dwindled over the last month, Public Health Director John Fralick told the Board of Health Monday night. Fralick told board members the majority — roughly 250 people, or 'north of' 50 families staying at the Red Roof Inn — of the migrants living in town had been moved to Plymouth by state officials.”

PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

— “Gov. Healey’s office ordered takedown of MBTA podcast, emails confirm,” by Christian MilNeil, StreetsBlog Mass: “Internal emails obtained through a public records request have confirmed that Governor Healey's office ordered the deletion of audio files and promotional social media posts after the T attempted to launch its new podcast in October."

— “Judge dismisses lawsuit against Holden over defiance of MBTA housing law, ” by Marco Cartolano, Telegram & Gazette.

FROM THE DELEGATION

FROM THE OPINION PAGES — Rep. Seth Moulton is out with a Time op-ed calling on Israeli forces to “tighten their rules of engagement” and take greater care to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza — or risk bolstering support for Hamas among Palestinian civilians.

MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS

— “O’Brien attorney calls charges against her laughable,” by Bhaamati Borkhetaria, CommonWealth Magazine: “Suspended Cannabis Control Commission Chair Shannon O’Brien urged a judge to postpone a meeting scheduled for Tuesday with Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, saying the person who tapped, hired, and suspended her is now refusing to give her a fair chance of defending herself against charges of making ‘racially, ethnically, and culturally insensitive statements.’”

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “Newton council passes scaled-back plan to allow more multifamily housing in some areas,” by Andrew Brinker, Boston Globe: “After years of arguing and planning, the Newton City Council passed zoning changes Monday night that will allow for denser multifamily housing in several key corridors of the city, potentially paving the way for thousands more apartments and condominiums in one of Boston’s wealthiest and most prominent suburbs.”

— “Harvard, MIT, UPenn have ‘basically been the center’ of campus antisemitism, key GOP congresswoman claims ahead of hearing,” by Hilary Burns and Mike Damiano, Boston Globe: “Congresswoman Virginia Foxx, a conservative Republican from North Carolina who chairs the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, claimed in an interview that Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of Pennsylvania have ‘basically been the center of the antisemitic violence and protests,’ since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 people.”

— Related: “Harvard alumni rebuke its Israel response with mere $1 donations,” by Janet Lorin, Bloomberg.

— Not-so related: “Prominent disinformation specialist files whistle-blower complaint against Harvard,” by Travis Andersen and Daniel Kool, Boston Globe.

2024 WATCH

BYE, BYE BURGUM — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has dropped out of the presidential race.

DEBATE STAGE SET — Chris Christie made Wednesday’s debate stage after all. He had been on the brink of not qualifying as late as last week.

— “Poll: Young voter enthusiasm plummets from 2019,” by Erin Doherty, Axios: “A poll out Tuesday offers a warning for presidential candidates hoping to tap into the youth vote in 2024. … Just 49 percent of 18-29 year-olds "definitely" plan on voting for president in 2024, down from 57 percent who said the same during the fall of 2019, according to the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School poll.”

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

SPOTTED — at the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus Winners Circle Awards Ceremony Monday: Lt. Gov Kim Driscoll , National Women’s Political Caucus President Deidre Malone, MWPC Board President Gail Jackson-Blount, MAHP President and CEO Lora Pellegrini, YW President and CEO Beth Chandler, Ann Murphy of Seven Letter, DeWit Group’s Jesse Mermell; MWPC Board of Directors members Linnea Walsh, Kate Worrall, Chelsea Aquino, Deloris Pettis, Charlotte Golar-Richie, Big Sisters CEO Annissa Essaibi George and Jacquetta van Zandt; MWPC Director Kat Cline , Winners Circle Honorees Brooke Thomson, Lee Pelton, Juan Fernando Lopera , state Sen. Lydia Edwards and state Rep. Hannah Kane ; and state Reps. Joan Meschino, Christopher Worrell, Kay Khan, Dawne Shand and Michelle Ciccolo.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Merrilee Rogers of Rep. Jake Auchincloss’ office, Ellen Parker, Simon Jerome and Greg Timilty .

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