Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: How Christie’s exit changes the race

Thursday, January 11, 2024

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: How Christie’s exit changes the race

With help from Mia McCarthy

SHAKE-UP IN NEW HAMPSHIRE — Chris Christie was supposed to be headlining a fundraising lunch for the MassGOP today.

Instead, he’s regrouping from the end of his presidential campaign .

The former New Jersey governor launched his second White House bid in June with the near single-minded mission of taking out Donald Trump. But less than two weeks before the first-in-the-nation primary, the GOP field’s most anti-Trump candidate risked becoming his biggest enabler — a reality he acknowledged when he exited the race Wednesday.

“I am going to make sure that in no way do I enable Donald Trump to ever be president of the United States again,” Christie told the few dozen people who had gathered in a wedding chapel in Windham, New Hampshire, for what some of his staunchest supporters in the room had been told was a policy speech. “And that’s more important than my own personal ambition.”

Chris Christie ended his presidential bid in a likely boon to Nikki Haley in New Hampshire. | Robert F. Bukaty/AP

Christie ultimately caved to an intense pressure campaign from New Hampshire Republicans anxious to consolidate the anti-Trump vote around a single candidate: Nikki Haley. GOP Gov. Chris Sununu, a longtime friend of Christie’s, became his most prominent antagonist, describing Christie’s faltering campaign as “dead in the water” during a TV interview at the end of last month and saying on a radio show this week that casting a ballot for Christie would be a "wasted vote."

Privately, Haley supporters were pressing those in Christie’s camp to look at the math, in some cases appealing directly to the candidate and his wife, Mary Pat, according to conversations recounted to Playbook.

While Christie’s exit paves the way for anti-Trump Republicans and independents who had been torn between him and Haley to migrate her way, the former New Jersey governor isn’t actively encouraging them to do so.

In fact, he continued to make the case on Wednesday — on a hot microphone and, later, to his town-hall audience — that neither Haley nor any of the other candidates still running (the ever-shrinking field includes Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy) are treating the front-running Trump with the appropriate level of villainy given the threat Christie believes he poses to the nation’s democracy.

But according to a recent UNH/CNN survey , Christie’s exit alone could be a boon to Haley. Sixty-five percent of those who backed Christie in the poll said they would break for Haley if he was no longer in the race.

Whether that will be enough to help Haley close the gap with Trump remains to be seen. But for those desperate to see the former president fail, it almost assuredly puts her closer to the type of upset victory on Jan. 23 that could change the trajectory of a presidential race that’s seemingly headed for a rematch between Trump and President Joe Biden.

And so Christie’s campaign ends not with a victory but perhaps with some redemption for the New Jerseyan whose endorsement of Trump in 2016 helped pave his path to the White House — a decision he offered a direct-to-camera mea culpa for in the waning days of his longshot bid.

GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. There are 12 days left until the New Hampshire primary.

TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey speaks virtually at the Massachusetts Society of CPAs annual tax conference at noon. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll attends the grand opening of ArLab at Quincy College at 6:30 p.m. Senate President Karen Spilka is on WBUR’s “Radio Boston” at 11 a.m.

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

DATELINE BEACON HILL

ON A TIGHT BUDGET — More funding for Massachusetts’ overtaxed emergency shelter system could be “harder to support” as the state grapples with a revenue shortfall, House Speaker Ron Mariano told reporters Wednesday.

“I mean, obviously, it’s a concern,” he said. “As revenues continue to bottom out and flatten, it becomes harder and harder to support some of these things.”

Mariano didn’t directly weigh in on Gov. Maura Healey ’s proposal to cover remaining shelter costs for this year and expected costs for next year by draining $700 million from a surplus account that holds one-time, pandemic-era funds.

But he said her move to cut the state’s budget — from which Healey is slashing $375 million to balance out poorer-than-projected tax collections — was the right call: “We have to keep that balance, no matter what the economic conditions are.”

FOR YOUR RADAR — Senate President Karen Spilka is plotting another push for free community college for all. "Keep your eyes peeled" for funding in the Senate’s version of the fiscal year 2025 budget, she said on the heels of a new report that puts the annual cost of such a program at $170 million a year.

— “Elon Musk goes after Gov. Maura Healey over using private homes to house homeless,” by Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald: “Elon Musk indirectly criticized Gov. Maura Healey’s handling of immigration in Massachusetts, saying 'now they want your homes too' in a repost of an August news story on the administration’s efforts to find more housing for homeless families.”

— “ State education secretary takes to airwaves with a message: make school attendance ‘a priority,’ ” by Max Larkin, WBUR: “Nearly four years after COVID-19 first shuttered schools, students are still missing class at rates unprecedented in the past two decades. In an effort to reverse that trend, Patrick Tutwiler, the state’s education secretary, will make his television debut this week to deliver the message that ‘school is where kids belong.’”

— “Massachusetts House approves bill outlawing revenge porn for second session in a row,” by Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald: “The bill representatives approved on 151-0 vote would make it illegal for someone to spread nude content of another person without permission even if the subject agreed to take the photos or videos in the first place. The proposal now heads to the Senate for consideration."

— “‘The right next step’: Early education board votes to boost subsidy for child care providers,” by Samantha J. Gross, The Boston Globe.

— “Supporters of Everett soccer stadium renew push on Beacon Hill,” by Walter Wuthmann, WBUR.

YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS

SAVE THE DATE — Republican state Rep. Mathew Muratore told Playbook he’s planning a “special announcement” for Jan. 23, after saying late last year that he’s considering a bid to succeed Democratic state Sen. Susan Moran , who is foregoing reelection to seek a county post. Already in the running for her seat are Democratic state Rep. Dylan Fernandes (who has the backing of Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll ) and Bourne School Committee member Kari MacRae , a Republican.

FROM THE HUB

— “Was last year really the least violent in Boston’s history?,” by Danny McDonald, The Boston Globe: “In a 30-minute speech highlighting the accomplishments and vision of Mayor Michelle Wu’s administration, it was an easily missed but historic superlative buried in the 15th paragraph of her remarks: Last year saw the least gun violence recorded in Boston’s history. … [Last year] featured the lowest number of shootings, both fatal and nonfatal, since the Boston Regional Intelligence Center, a police intelligence gathering operation sometimes referred to as BRIC, started keeping track of such statistics in 2005, according to police.”

— “ 20 arrested following Boston State of the City address, charged with disorderly conduct, ” by Flint McColgan, Boston Herald.

— “ Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen touts inflation reduction, clean energy opportunities in Boston visit, ” by Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald.

— “Boston reaches $2.4 million settlement with female police commander over gender discrimination case,” by The Associated Press.

— “Boston puts housing tax incentives on ice,” by Jennifer Smith, CommonWealth Beacon.

PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

— “It’s ‘Groundhog Day’ at the T when it comes to worker safety. Agency acknowledges yet another near-miss,” by Taylor Dolven, The Boston Globe: “A train came dangerously close to hitting an MBTA worker ... again. On Monday evening, a Green Line train entered a work zone where trains weren’t allowed while a worker was turning off a signal heater on the tracks near the Medford/Tufts station, the T confirmed.”

DAY IN COURT

— “ Dewar confirmed to state’s highest court, ” by Colin A. Young, State House News Service (paywall): “Gov. Maura Healey's first nominee to the Supreme Judicial Court was unanimously confirmed to the bench Wednesday. When Dewar is seated at the SJC, it will be the first time since December 2020 that the high court will include any justice not nominated by Gov. Charlie Baker. The Swampscott Republican filled all seven seats on the SJC during his two terms in office.”

MEANWHILE IN RHODE ISLAND

FROM THE GRAVE — With one day until the deadline, presidential candidates are scrambling to get on the ballot in Rhode Island. And at least one — Vivek Ramaswamy — has been accused by the state’s Board of Elections of having an "unusually high number of invalidated signatures and instances of deceased voters” submitted on his behalf, The Providence Journal’s Katherine Gregg reports .

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

TRANSITIONS — Nick Black is now director of strategic initiatives for the Office of Climate Innovation and Resilience.

— Former MassDems Chair Gus Bickford is joining MassDOT as chief of intergovernmental affairs.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to former GOP Senate candidate Kevin O’Connor, Ben Finkenbinder, Barry Shrage and Jonathan Sarna .

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