SENATE CANDIDATES

Contenders need more practice on debate floor

It’s a shame the three Republican candidates vying to replace U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren are unlikely to hold several more debates — they could use the practice.

State Rep. Geoff Diehl, clearly the prime target during yesterday’s hourlong Herald Radio debate, tried his best not to get defensive as he fended off multiple attacks from rival Beth Lindstrom.

“I think Geoff needs to look at his math,” Lindstrom riffed early in the showdown about Diehl’s close ties to President Trump. “If you are a blind loyalist like Geoff is, I think that’s going to be a tough time in Massachusetts.”

Diehl quickly swung back, but seemed uncomfortable and physically turned away from Lindstrom during the confrontation.

“I know Beth lost the convention overwhelmingly to me so she’s going to try to do what she can to be negative in this debate,” said the Whitman Republican.

True to Diehl’s prediction, Lindstrom blasted him as a State House insider more concerned with his political career than Bay State voters. She brought up his vote for Joe Biden in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary.

When Diehl finally faced the former Gov. Mitt Romney official, it appeared she had gotten under his skin.

“You bought into the idea that you had to raise fees because government needs to get bigger and bigger,” said Diehl, slamming Lindstrom for hiking fees while working for Romney.

“We already have Elizabeth Warren that wants bigger government and more taxes. We don’t need to have you down there in Washington making those type of decisions.”

Lindstrom fumbled for a comeback, ultimately pointing out that the fees were the “lowest in the country.”

Businessman John Kingston remained out of the fray but tripped on other questions — such as suggesting U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch was the Democratic senator he’d most like to work with in Washington, D.C.

Whichever candidate goes on to face Warren will need to bone up on his or her debate skills. Former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown’s strategy was to cast the Cambridge Democrat as an elite Harvard professor during a Boston Herald-sponsored debate in 2012.

“Excuse me, I’m not a student in your classroom,” Brown pushed back during one heated exchange.

But now the liberal darling is a top foil to President Trump and on the short list of Democratic 2020 presidential candidates.

Any showdown with Warren is sure to attract a national audience.

So why not agree to more debates? Based on their performance yesterday, Republicans need all the practice they can get.

STAFF PHOTO BY MARK GARFINKEL UNDER ATTACK: Geoff Diehl, a candidate for U.S. Senate and the Bay State GOP pick, is seen during a debate against John Kingston and Beth Lindstrom yesterday.

STAFF PHOTO BY MARK GARFINKEL THREE’S A COMPANY: John Kingston, a candidate for U.S. Senate, is seen during a debate in the studios of Boston Herald Radio.