The Massachusetts Republican Party, the state’s RNC committee members, and other state Republicans are slamming GOP gubernatorial candidate Brian Shortsleeve for launching a statewide television attack ad against primary opponent Mike Minogue.
It’s the first TV ad buy of the election for Shortsleeve, who criticized Mike Minogue and what he calls his “defense of election fraud” in the 30-second advertisement that aired for the first time Wednesday.
“As Chair of the Party, it is my responsibility to stand up for and support Republican candidates, particularly when they are being unfairly attacked, misrepresented, or wronged,” MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale said in statement. “In this case, fraud was perpetrated against our candidates. Brian Shortsleeve’s attempt to exploit that fraud for political advantage, while portraying himself as a champion of election integrity and disparaging fellow Republicans, is both misleading and deeply disappointing.
“This kind of conduct does a disservice to the candidates, the Republican Party, and the voters whose trust we are working to earn,” she said.
RNC Committeeman Brad Wyatt and Committeewoman Janet Fogarty also slammed Shortsleeve, calling out his lack of focus on attacking Democratic incumbent Gov. Maura Healey rather than attacking a fellow Republican in Minogue, despite being his opponent.
“It is both sad and appalling to watch Brian Shortsleeve violate Ronald Reagan’s 11th Commandment by attacking our endorsed Republican nominee, Mike Minogue, instead of focusing on Maura Healey’s abysmal record,” Fogarty said. “If Brian really wanted to put the Mission above himself and save our Commonwealth, he would pull this ad immediately, suspend his campaign, and do everything he can to ensure Mike Minogue retires Maura Healey come November.”
“Instead of attacking the corrupt one-party state led by Maura Healey, Shortsleeve is acting desperate, losing big in the polls, and is resorting to twisting words to falsely attack Mike Minogue, rather than focusing on Maura Healey’s record of insider deals and incompetence,” added Wyatt.
Entitled “Voter ID,” Shortsleeve’s ad is centered around the voter signature fraud snafu that led to two Republican candidates not being able to qualify for the September ballot, with a third being put back on the ballot only after an appeal.
The signature situation led to dramatic changes to the September ballot, but also sparked infighting among the Massachusetts Republican Party, with Minogue and others criticizing Shortsleeve and Lt. Gov. candidate Shawn Oliver for consolidating their legal effort with the state’s Democratic Party to challenge Lt. Gov. candidate Anne Manning Martin’s signatures.
“It is shameful that anyone would oppose unifying to win, but unfathomable that anyone would join arms with bad actors to block the democratic process,” Mingoue said of Shortsleeve and Oliver in reaction to the news of the consolidated cases.
The Shortsleeve campaign says Minogue “defended” election fraud and has yet to walk that back.
“Mike Minogue can have his bought-and-paid-for MassGOP allies defend him all he wants, but the facts remain unchanged. To this day, he has refused to explain or walk back his comments defending election fraud. His silence is deafening,” Shortsleeve campaign spokesman Pat Nestor told the Herald.
“Mike Minogue and those who defended this signature fraud owe every Republican voter who believes in free, fair, and secure elections an apology. If they are unwilling to do so, they should step down from their leadership positions,” he said.
Hundreds of signatures submitted by both Manning Martin and Walsh were found to have been written in the same hand, were signed by people who were not eligible to be registered, and even included the signatures of some dead people.
It all started when fellow former GOP Lt. Gov. candidate Anne Brensley sounded the alarm after finding out she had fallen victim to an apparent signature collection fraud scheme, allegedly carried out by Republican consultant Joe Bronske.
Former Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Kennealy, who has recently thrown his support behind Minogue, also chimed in, likening Shortsleeve’s attacks on Minogue to acting as “a campaign surrogate for Maura Healey,” even calling for Shortsleeve to take the ad off the air.
“We are 97 days away from a critical election where we must defeat Maura Healey and put Massachusetts back on the right track. Loyal Republicans with integrity, who are truly focused on public service not private ambition, are entirely focused on that objective,” said Kennealy.
“Brian Shortsleeve is entirely focused on something else. Shortsleeve’s campaign platform is trashing Republicans, lying, and having nothing redeeming to say about himself,” he continued.
Marlborough Republican City Committee Chair Paul Ferro says Shortsleeve is being “purposefully deceitful.”
”I am disappointed that Brian Shortsleeve has chosen to launch an incredibly deceptive advertisement,” Ferro said.
”Three Republican candidates were defrauded. The alleged perpetrator has taken the fifth before the state ballot commissioned There’s a criminal investigation underway. Mike Minogue has nothing to do with that. Brian is being purposefully deceitful,” he said.
Nearly a month after the infighting between the Shortsleeve-Oliver campaign and the rest of the party, the MassGOP passed a resolution reaffirming its “commitment to election integrity and stronger signature verification” at a Massachusetts Republican State Committee meeting on July 23.
Shortsleeve, in the new ad and during his campaign, has promised to support voter ID laws along with secure elections.
Minogue declined a Herald request for comment.