Mass. candidates try out the debate dodge strategy
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
Deehan here, back with Spill of the Hill, my column unraveling Massachusetts politics.
More than one Massachusetts political hopeful is trying to turn the fact that their opponents won't give them the time of day into an election leg-up.
Why it matters: Challengers in some high-profile Massachusetts races are calling out opponents for running "basement strategies" instead of facing off in public.
- Candidates trailing in the polls or searching for a way to make their mark are weaponizing their opponents' silence as a lack of transparency.
State of play: Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Kennealy spent last week blasting his rivals, Mike Minogue and Brian Shortsleeve, for rejecting an early primary debate on the South Coast.
Between the lines: While Kennealy has something of an early polling advantage, his opponents are keeping lower profiles, perhaps to avoid unforced errors before the April nominating convention.
What they're saying: "We already have a Governor who leads with absence and arrogance... the Minogue and Shortsleeve campaigns are taking a page out of her playbook," Kennealy said in a statement.
The other side: Shortsleeve's campaign said the venture capitalist and former MBTA executive would debate both his opponents anywhere.
- "The question should be directed at Mike Minogue, who is refusing debates and disrespecting Republican audiences by regularly leaving events before taking a single question," Shortsleeve's director of communications, Patrick Nestor, told Axios.
Minogue's camp told Axios "the debate about debates is usually driven by candidates who are floundering."
- Campaign convention director John Milligan said Minogue has participated in one multi-candidate forum and "looks forward to debates ahead."
- Meeting voters is the priority before the convention, Milligan said.
Reality check: Governor Maura Healey leads all three potential GOP challengers by 20-plus points in recent head-to-head polling.
Making a public spectacle over who's not appearing in public is also happening on the Democratic side, where a newcomer is trying to unseat veteran U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch in the 8th Congressional District.
- Challenger Patrick Roath demanded that the 13-term incumbent appear at a forum last week in Copley Square.
- Roath claims Lynch hasn't held an in-person town hall since 2019, calling him out of touch with a district facing a deepening affordability crisis.
What's next: Some Republican activists are pushing for a sanctioned debate with all three candidates for governor before the convention.
- Meanwhile, Roath plans to appear at forums throughout the 8th, with or without an empty chair for the incumbent.