Downtrodden state Republicans show signs of life
For reasons concrete and symbolic, the historically beleaguered Republican Party in this state may actually have something to feel good about.
Pronouncing the party as “in the strongest position we’ve seen in years,” MassGOP officials on Monday announced a major fundraising success, along with plans to return operations to their former Boston headquarters.
State Republican Party Chair Amy Carnevale, who assumed command just over a year ago at the nadir of the party’s popularity and financial footing, touted the Massgop’s current state as a marked improvement, and said she’s “determined to maintain this momentum” into the current election year.
In a message to supporters, she wrote that the party’s finances have improved significantly since she took over, noting that in 2023, MASSGOP raised about $770,000.
“This is a huge number,” Carnevale wrote in part. “Raising money is never easy, especially during an off-year of the election cycle when the party does not have an elected statewide or federal official…”
Carnevale, who disclosed she served without pay in 2023 and kept party staff to a “bare minimum” to help control expenses, said MASSGOP has so far paid down $200,000 of “inherited debt from previous leadership.”
The party repaid an unspecified number of vendors, but remains in dispute with another, according to Carnevale, who said MASSGOP is still working through additional issues with state and federal political finance regulators.
“As we reported early last year, [the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance] identified $300,000 in misreporting in the 2022 cycle, and we are continuing to work through those issues,” Carnevale wrote. “Similarly, we entered a formal dispute resolution process with the [Federal Election Commission] over 2022 reporting issues. Our attorneys were able to negotiate the fine for this misreporting down to $6,450 while avoiding a full FEC audit of the committee. Additionally, the Party incurred a fine of $15,000 by the Attorney General for alleged campaign finance violations from the 2022 cycle, and this fine has been paid in full.”
Under former MASSGOP Chairman Jim Lyons, who previously served as a state representative from Andover before losing his seat, the party in 2019 moved from its offices at 85 Merrimac St. in Boston to an office park in Woburn. Officials said at the time relocating would save nearly $350,000 over five years.
But in an apparent show of renewed relevance, the party plans to move its headquarters back to Boston after its more than four years’ banishment in the suburbs.
That move also will position it closer to the nexus of state government and political influence.
The party will now transition operations back to Boston over the course of themonth, with plans to be fully operational at its former address by the end of February, Carnevale announced Monday.
“This location is conveniently located near North Station with many public transportation options nearby. The move is paramount to our continued growth and connectivity to the heartbeat of the Massachusetts government, where we can be on top of the many failed policies coming out of the healey Administration and Beacon Hill,” Carnevale wrote.
“… This move signifies that the Republican Party is back in the fight.”
At this point in time, that sanguine statement should be considered more aspirational than actual.
Although Republicans have had success putting governors in the corner office, Democrats have long wielded veto-proof supermajorities in the Legislature.
In the House, Democrats currently outnumber Republicans,133-24, with one Unenrolled member and two vacancies. In the Senate, Democrats hold an overwhelming 36- 4 majority.
However, the GOP does have some reason for renewed optimism.
It flipped a Senate seat last year when state Rep. Peter Durant of Spencer won a special election for the district vacated by Democrat Sen. Anne Gobi.
And according to Politico, no Democrats have filed to run in the March 5 special election to fill one of those House vacancies — Durant’s former office — which gives Republicans two legislative seats for the price of one contested election.
It’s a win-win that’s been previously hard to come by for the GOP in deep-blue Massachusetts.
While a long way from actually becoming a competitive two-party state, Republicans, by showing some semblance of a political pulse, have at least raised the possibility of becoming a viable alternative to the Democrats’ political monopoly.
That would be a godsend for mainstream voters whom we trust still value the benefits of a participatory democracy.