SCRUTINIZE ANY CANDIDATE & DON'T BELIEVE THIS ATTACK AD PROPAGANDA!
SLOW ZONE SHORTSLEEVE FAILED THE MBTA UNDER HIS REIGN & LEFT
AN EXPENSIVE DISASTER GOV. HEALEY WAS FORCED TO ADDRESS!
THE OTHER REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES - ONE A TRUMPER?
SUPER PACs NEED LEASHES & LIMITS!
SCRUTINIZE THE DONORS AS WELL!
Super PAC targets Gov. Healey as Republican race ramps up
A no-limit super PAC backing Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Shortsleeve has raised more than $1 million to oppose Democrat Gov. Maura Healey, records show.
The super PAC, dubbed Commonwealth Unity, was created in May. It has spent just over $34,000 thus far to oppose Healey, who plans to run for reelection next year.
The PAC is the second created to publicly back one of the three conservatives running for the party’s nomination to challenge the governor in 2026.
Lydia Goldblatt, who previously worked as an aide to former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown and is chair of the super PAC, said the spending committee is “energized by the growing wave of support from Massachusetts voters rallying behind Brian Shortsleeve.”
In a statement, she said the fundraising “reflects real momentum from Brian’s vision of a united Commonwealth focused on lowering costs, creating opportunities, and delivering results for working families.”
Shortsleeve, contacted by WBUR, released a statement saying he’s proud of the support his campaign is generating “at all levels, whether it is public opinion polling, campaign fundraising, or the support of independent outside organizations.”
The super PAC, which is barred from directly coordinating with Shortsleeve, raised slightly more than $1 million from businesses and individuals across Massachusetts, according to campaign finance records updated Monday. Many of the donors come from venture capital and real estate.
Records show five businesses contributed $50,000 each: Concord Street Associates in Framingham, Fourteen Walkup in Westborough, Ten Bear in Northborough, Uniave Two in Westwood, and West Park 1800 LLC in Westborough.
Robert Pereira, chief executive of the Middlesex Corp., a construction company that helped build the MBTA’s Green Line Extension, also individually donated $50,000, according to campaign finance records.
Shortsleeve ran the MBTA under former Gov. Charlie Baker when the transit agency’s Fiscal Management and Control Board approved the contract for the Green Line Extension.
Pereira’s daughter, Saige, also works for Shortsleeve’s campaign, according to state records and a spokesperson for the candidate.
A spokesperson for Middlesex Corp. declined to comment.
Six other businesses donated between $30,000 and $45,000 to the super PAC, records show.
The super PAC spent just over $34,000 with Ohio-based Strategic Media Placement for digital advertising and production costs to oppose Healey.
The organization has relentlessly attacked the governor on social media since May, including through a post earlier this month that placed Healey in a sombrero and poncho, holding a bag of money.
"Spirit Halloween called — they’re out of Maura Healey costumes because failure’s been flying off the shelves! Nothing’s scarier than higher bills and blind leadership," the super PAC said.
A spokesperson for Shortsleeve said the super PAC is legally required to operate independently from the campaign. "We have no control over its communications. While Maura Healey’s record of wasting billions of taxpayer dollars on the migrant crisis is fair game, this is not the tone we endorse even if it was intended as humor," the spokesperson said in a statement to WBUR.
A spokesperson for Healey’s campaign declined to comment.
But Massachusetts Democratic Party Chair Steve Kerrigan said no amount of “MAGA money is going to trick the voters who know Brian Shortsleeve failed at the head of the MBTA and know he's going to be at Donald Trump's beck and call as governor.”
A spokesperson for Mike Kennealy, a former cabinet secretary under Baker who is also a Republican running for governor, accused Shortsleeve of mismanaging the T and having “insider relationships and financial ties to powerful Democrats.”
“This isn’t the record of someone ready to challenge Beacon Hill’s backroom politics — it’s the resume of someone who’s thrived on them," said Ben Hincher, Kennealy’s campaign manager. "Massachusetts needs a leader who’s independent, accountable, and willing to take on the entrenched political establishment — not serve it.”
Shortsleeve had nearly $553,000 in cash in his own campaign account as of Oct. 3, according to state records. He raised just over $72,000 and spent more than $90,000 last month, data shows.
The super PAC backing Shortsleeve is not the first to wade into the 2026 race for governor.
Another no-limit spending committee filed paperwork last week to back Michael Minogue, a South Hamilton Republican and major GOP donor who launched a campaign for governor earlier this month.
A spokesperson for Minogue did not respond to a WBUR inquiry.
The super PAC backing Minogue, dubbed Massachusetts First, is led by Rob Neuner, chief executive of Connecticut-based Boost Oxygen.
In an interview with WBUR this week, Neuner said he planned to donate $100,000 to the super PAC and defended Minogue’s contributions to President Trump and national conservatives.
“He's got a, definitely, moral compass that people could say maybe Donald Trump may not have. But he's a much different type of candidate than Donald Trump,” Neuner said. “I think he would support anyone who ran for president as a good Republican. He’s definitely a lot different than that type of MAGA person.”
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