Politics
Trump Energizes Bay State GOP
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Republicans dare to dream of a “MAGAchusetts” swing. BY CHRIS GONSALVES
omething’s stirring in and around Boston, and this time it’s more than tea. This bluest of blue states is
showing signs of veering back toward its patriot pedigree, buoyed by a fresh- ly energized conservative movement and President Donald Trump’s popu- lar MAGA agenda. “Massachusetts voters are smart,”
Amy Carnevale, the state’s Republican Party chairwoman, tells Newsmax. “They weren’t fooled by Biden-Har-
ris failing the American people. They watched our governor repeatedly push extreme progressive policies at tax- payer expense. They’ve had enough. They’re ready for a new direction.” That new direction includes ambi-
tions for a spate of contested seats in the state legislature and designs on the governor’s office, where incumbent Democrat Gov. Maura Healey is seek- ing reelection next year. “There’s an unprecedented level of enthusiasm in the Mass GOP which, along with the MAGA movement, has permeated the electorate,” Tom Hodg- son, Trump’s campaign chairman in the Bay State, tells Newsmax. “Illegal immigration, the failing economy, energy costs, healthcare, and our weakness in national security are front and center.”
DEMS’ DISCONTENT Swept into office in 2022 with 64% of the vote and an initial approval approaching 80%, Healey parlayed her position as the state’s first female and gay elected governor — and her experience as Massachusetts’ former attorney general — to champion lib- eral causes like LGBTQ+ rights, green energy, public housing initiatives, and
46 NEWSMAX | MAY 2025
unflinching support for undocument- ed immigrants. That approach is now running up
hard against a growing wave of con- servatism here as the MAGA move- ment gained traction among voters, the majority of whom register as independent. “The top two issues here are afford-
ability and immigration,” says Car- nevale. With the Healey administra- tion now offering “seemingly limitless taxpayer-funded benefits” to migrants pouring into the state, Carnevale says Massachusetts “has become more unaffordable than ever.” Sheltering a steady influx of
migrants cost Massachusetts taxpay- ers an estimated $1 billion in 2024, a price tag expected to increase this year, according to the state’s Emer- gency Assistance Commission. Meanwhile, law enforcement
records show more than 670 “serious incidents” at Massachusetts’ migrant shelters last year, including fentanyl drug busts, rapes, human trafficking, and physical assaults.
ONEROUS REGULATIONS Democrats control the state house, both chambers of the legislature and the AG’s office, and both its U.S. senators and all nine of its U.S. representatives are Dem- ocrats. Despite this, Trump won 86 of the state’s 351 cities and towns last year
MASSACHUSETTS VOTER ENROLLMENT FEB. 2025
Registered voters Democrats Republicans Independents
5,025,826 1,298,603 423,387
3,254,435 SOURCE: Massachusetts Secretary of State
— a sign of voters’ independent streak. Perhaps more telling, seven commu-
nities in the state that supported Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden in 2016 and 2020 flipped to Trump last year. Immigration and cultural concerns
aren’t the only progressive issues vexing voters and threatening the left’s peren- nial dominance. Onerous regulations and overzeal-
ous support of alternative energy projects has driven electricity rates in Massachusetts to the fourth highest in the nation. And the state’s famous anti-gun cru-
sade spawned new rules in 2024, wiping out access to hundreds of long-gun mod- els and accessories popular with sports- men across the political spectrum. “Given years of [Democrats’] domi-
nance in our state legislature, a growing conservative movement in Massachu- setts . . . should not be at all surprising,” says Hodgson, a former Bristol County sheriff and New Bedford city councilor. “Trump defines the stark difference
between a self-serving, politically moti- vated agenda and one that is focused on representing those you were elected to serve.”
READY TO STEP UP While Massachusetts is often described as Democrat-dominated, voters have shown some historic affin- ity for center-of-the-road Republican governors like Bill Weld, Paul Cellucci, Mitt Romney, and Charlie Baker, who Trump denounced as a RINO (Repub- lican in name only). Several Republicans are reported-
ly considering gubernatorial bids in 2026, including Mike Kennealy, who served as secretary of housing and economic development under Baker; Brian Shortsleeve, who ran the Bos- ton-area mass transit system during the Baker administration; and state Sen. Peter Durant of Spencer. “The MAGA movement definitely
ignited interest and confidence in Massachusetts Republicans to step forward and seek leadership roles,” Hodgson notes.
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