{"id":1593367,"date":"2022-08-07T15:40:15","date_gmt":"2022-08-07T19:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1593367"},"modified":"2022-08-07T15:40:38","modified_gmt":"2022-08-07T19:40:38","slug":"two-republican-candidates-hope-to-prevent-san-francisco-on-steroids-after-the-nations-most-popular-governor-retires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/two-republican-candidates-hope-to-prevent-san-francisco-on-steroids-after-the-nations-most-popular-governor-retires\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Republican Candidates Hope To Prevent \u2018San Francisco On Steroids\u2019 After The Nation\u2019s Most Popular Governor Retires"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftwo-republican-candidates-hope-to-prevent-san-francisco-on-steroids-after-the-nations-most-popular-governor-retires%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1593367&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/2021-07-08T183843Z_1992328665_RC2IGO99VTLH_RTRMADP_3_USA-OPIOIDS-PURDUE-PHARMA-scaled-e1659805436763.jpeg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Popular Republican Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker is not running for reelection in 2022.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The two Republican candidates vying to replace him \u2014 Geoff Diehl and Chris Doughty \u2014 lag considerably behind Democratic nominee Maura Healey in early polling.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Neither man is dissuaded however, and both spoke with the Daily Caller News Foundation to discuss why they\u2019re the best fit for the state and how they plan to maintain GOP control of Massachusetts\u2019 governor\u2019s office.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Despite a popular outgoing GOP governor, Republicans in Massachusetts face an uphill battle to replace him with another conservative, but two candidates believe they\u2019re up to the task.<\/p>\n<p>Gov. Charlie Baker\u2019s 69% approval rating puts him in a three-way tie for most popular governor in the country, <a href=\"https:\/\/morningconsult.com\/governor-rankings\/\">according to<\/a> Morning Consult, but he announced in December that he would not be running for a third term to instead focus on stewarding the Massachusetts economy out of the pandemic, NPR <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2021\/12\/01\/1060608500\/massachusetts-gov-charlie-baker-says-he-wont-be-running-for-reelection\">reported<\/a> at the time. Though both potential Republican replacements \u2014 former state representative and U.S. Senate candidate <a href=\"https:\/\/geoffdiehl.com\/\">Geoff Diehl<\/a> and political newcomer and businessman <a href=\"http:\/\/chrisforma.com\/\">Chris Doughty<\/a> \u2014 are trailing Democratic nominee and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey by about 30 points in a recent Suffolk\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.suffolk.edu\/news-features\/news\/2022\/07\/27\/00\/00\/poll-in-governors-race-ag-healey-sailing-past-gop-opponents\">poll<\/a>, they both told the Daily Caller News Foundation they\u2019re not afraid of the challenge and that it\u2019s critically important that a Republican end up in command in the state house come November.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMassachusetts\u2019 state legislature is among the most liberal in the nation, as is its judiciary, and <span>Maura Healey would be one of the most liberal governors in the country,\u201d Doughty told the DCNF.\u00a0 \u201cWithout a conservative check in the governor\u2019s office, this would be San Francisco on steroids.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019s a big-government ideologue that wants to take away the freedoms that our state was built on,\u201d Diehl told the DCNF.<\/p>\n<p>Healey sued the Trump administration nearly 100 times as attorney general and has been accused of focusing on national culture wars rather than acting as a public servant for Massachusetts residents, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wgbh.org\/news\/politics\/2022\/01\/20\/five-key-things-to-know-about-maura-healey-as-she-starts-her-campaign-for-governor\">according to<\/a> WGBH, Boston\u2019s local NPR channel.<\/p>\n<p>Every time Healey engaged in these \u201cpolitically motivated lawsuits,\u201d Republican attorney Dan Shores said, meant \u201cone more drug dealer who goes free, or one more public official who commits an act of corruption or one more senior who\u2019s defrauded,\u201d WBUR, another Boston-area NPR affiliate, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/news\/2022\/06\/09\/ag-maura-healey-gubernatorial-run\">reported.<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-reactid=\"346\">U.S. <span>Attorney Andrew Lelling and the left-leaning Boston Globe editorial board have also criticized Healey for insufficiently prosecuting government corruption in the overwhelmingly Democratic state government, having never charged an elected official in the state, WGBH reported.<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-reactid=\"346\">The Healey campaign did not respond to the DCNF\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n<p data-reactid=\"346\">While both Doughty and Diehl are in agreement that a Healey governorship would spell disaster for Massachusetts, they disagree on the man to do it.<\/p>\n<p data-reactid=\"346\">The Donald Trump-aligned Diehl seems to be the frontrunner at the moment, with a <a href=\"https:\/\/polsci.umass.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/PrimaryToplinesSpring2022.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">poll<\/a> conducted in late June showing him up 52% to Doughty\u2019s 16% among Republicans, though the figures are six weeks old and Doughty says his campaign has kicked things up a gear since then.<\/p>\n<p data-reactid=\"346\">Diehl has far more political experience than Doughty; he won office as a state representative in 2010, and while unsuccessful, challenged Elizabeth Warren in 2018 for the U.S. Senate. He says the experience helped him \u201cbuild a really strong team across the state and, even though I didn\u2019t beat Warren, I actually got more votes than the Democratic nominee for governor that cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">I\u2019m running for Governor to see the people of Massachusetts grow and prosper. It\u2019s time to make our state a place to live in for generations to come. Join our campaign and stand with us at: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tUDyO17WTw\">https:\/\/t.co\/tUDyO17WTw<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4Ul8yDAlNh\">pic.twitter.com\/4Ul8yDAlNh<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Diehl For MA (@DiehlForMA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DiehlForMA\/status\/1511093102274043909?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 4, 2022<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p data-reactid=\"346\">Diehl grew up in Pennsylvania before moving to his wife\u2019s hometown of Whitman, Massachusetts, where they own a small performing arts business. It\u2019s these credentials in both private business and government that Diehl backers believe make him the best choice for governor.<\/p>\n<p data-reactid=\"346\">\u201cGeoff uniquely in this race wields both private and public sector experience that allows him to understand how various pieces of the puzzle fit together,\u201d Diehl\u2019s campaign manager, Amanda Orlando, told the DCNF.<\/p>\n<p data-reactid=\"346\">Diehl\u2019s status as a small business owner also gave him a unique vantage point on how COVID-19 restrictions were impacting business owners, and ultimately spurred him to announce his candidacy last summer even before Baker made it clear that he would not be seeking reelection.<\/p>\n<p data-reactid=\"346\">\u201cThe pandemic exposed his administration for following too much of the Democratic playbook; we had to wait for arbitrary re-openings, kids weren\u2019t going back to school,\u201d Diehl told the DCNF, adding that \u201con day one we\u2019d hire back any government workers that lost their jobs due to vaccine mandates, and on day two we\u2019d fire anyone that thought that was a good idea.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-reactid=\"346\">Challenging Baker \u2014 a Republican nemesis of Trump \u2014 helped Diehl earn the former president\u2019s endorsement, and the Diehl campaign is composed of former Trump ringers, most notably including Corey Lewandowski, who managed parts of Trump\u2019s 2016 campaign.<\/p>\n<p data-reactid=\"346\">This week the Diehl campaign is flying in another staunch Trump ally, Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, for a fundraising event, Diehl told the DCNF.<\/p>\n<p data-reactid=\"346\">But Doughty thinks these Trump connections make Diehl unelectable in New England. \u201cHe\u2019s running an Alabama campaign in Massachusetts\u201d Doughty told the DCNF. While signs point to Trump being popular in the Massachusetts GOP, Republicans make up a small percentage of registered voters in the state and the former president lost Massachusetts in 2020 by a margin of 2 to 1, according to WBUR.<\/p>\n<p data-reactid=\"346\">The Wrentham-based businessman and political newcomer believes that where Diehl plays into hot-button culture wars, his pragmatism and business acumen make him the right fit for Massachusetts.<\/p>\n<p data-reactid=\"346\">\u201cI will run the state like I run my business. I will be very careful with money \u2014 we overtax and overspend in Massachusetts and it makes us noncompetitive,\u201d he told the DCNF, also asserting repeatedly that his chops as a \u201cfiscal conservative\u201d outweigh Diehls\u2019.<\/p>\n<p data-reactid=\"346\">\u201cDiehl voted for more spending in the state legislature than even our Democratic governor [Deval Patrick] supported when we had him,\u201d Doughty told the DCNF.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">We need a Governor who will make the taxpayers, good jobs and affordability THE priority. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/maura_healey?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@maura_healey<\/a> is not that candidate. The state cannot sue its way into economic prosperity. We need leadership on economic issues. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/fMQxh4ACRM\">https:\/\/t.co\/fMQxh4ACRM<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/magov?src=hash&#038;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#magov<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/mapoli?src=hash&#038;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#mapoli<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/massgop?src=hash&#038;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#massgop<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wv1bZxQ8JS\">pic.twitter.com\/wv1bZxQ8JS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Chris Doughty (@chrisforma) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/chrisforma\/status\/1554544495861063685?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 2, 2022<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\"347\">Doughty also promises to compromise with Democrats, holding a \u201cuniting view of the world,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/news\/2022\/08\/01\/massachusetts-geoff-diehl-governor-republican-trump\">according to<\/a> WBUR, which has drawn comparisons to other moderate Republicans who have found success in Massachusetts in the past like Baker and Mitt Romney.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\"347\">\u201cI\u2019m not here to say bad things about other people or other parties,\u201d Doughty told WBUR.<\/p>\n<p data-reactid=\"346\">But without Baker\u2019s name recognition, many pundits question Doughty\u2019s ability to succeed in a Massachusetts GOP primary when most of the state\u2019s Republican voters are aligned with the pro-Trump wing of the party, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/news\/2022\/08\/04\/mass-governor-chris-doughty-republican\">according to<\/a> WBUR.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indent-medium\" data-reactid=\"360\">\u201cIt might be easier to pass a camel through the eye of a needle than getting a moderate through a Republican primary\u201d in Massachusetts today, Eric Fehrnstrom, a long-time Republican consultant, told WBUR. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/07\/22\/tudor-dixon-republican-primary-michigan-gretchen-whitmer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: \u2018Vindictive\u2019: GOP Candidate Launches Unconventional Line Of Attack To Unseat Dem)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-reactid=\"346\">While each facing their own challenges \u2013 Doughty immediately in the primary and Diehl in the general election \u2014 both men see national political trends and a possible \u201cred wave\u201d playing to their favor. President Joe Biden\u2019s favorability has steadily decreased in Massachusetts to about 41%, while 48% disapprove according to Suffolk\u2019s poll, which surveyed 600 Massachusetts residents between July 20 and 23 and had a margin of error of 4.5%.<\/p>\n<p data-reactid=\"346\">Diehl noted the \u201cYoungkin situation, where even in blue states or purple states you\u2019re starting to see that middle ground \u2014 including 57% of voters that are unregistered in Massachusetts \u2014 looking at the country and saying, \u2018You know what? The Democrats haven\u2019t done it for us.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-reactid=\"346\">For his part, Doughty told the DCNF that \u201cGeoff and I are tied pretty far behind Maura but what\u2019s happened in the past in Massachusetts is that Republicans catch up three or four weeks before the general election \u2014 that\u2019s when we start getting the traction and attention of the voters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-reactid=\"346\">Whether a Republican can pose a real challenge to Healey in November remains to be seen, but the next step is the party primary on Sept. 6.<\/p>\n<p>Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact <a href=\"mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Popular Republican Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker is not running for reelection in 2022. The two Republican candidates vying to replace him \u2014 Geoff Diehl and Chris Doughty \u2014 lag considerably<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":979,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1593367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1593367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/979"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1593367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1593367\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1593367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1593367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1593367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}