Once the most popular governor in the United States in polling, despite presiding over a reliably blue state in presidential election terms, Massachusetts GOP Gov. Charlie Baker will have a primary challenge on his docket for his 2022 reelection campaign.
Former President Donald Trump gave his “complete and total endorsement” to a top Republican hopeful Tuesday in a statement from his Save America PAC.
“Republican gubernatorial candidate Geoff Diehl of Massachusetts looks very much forward to his run against ‘RINO’ Gov. Charlie Baker, who has done nothing for the Republican Party and has driven Massachusetts energy costs into, by far, the highest in the nation — monthly electric bills, and all else, are not even close to being where they should be,” Trump wrote.
“Baker is bad on crime, disrespects our police, does nothing for our veterans, has totally botched the vaccination rollout, presided over the collapse of the MBTA, and has seen crime go to record levels.”
In addition to hitting Baker on energy, Trump denounced the blue state governor for bowing to Green New Deal progressives such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
“His ‘green climate’ views are fresh out of the AOC playbook,” Trump’s statement continued. “He has totally abandoned the principles of the Republican Party, never cutting taxes and undermining our agenda. Baker is definitely not an American First or Make America Great Again kind of guy.”
Diehl, meanwhile, seeks to capitalize on the popularity of Trump, as many other gubernatorial candidates have over the summer.
“Geoff Diehl, on the other hand, is a true patriot, a believer in low energy costs and our independent energy policy (which was just obliterated by the Biden administration with energy costs soaring!),” Trump’s statement concluded. “Geoff is strong on crime, election integrity, our now under siege southern border, loves our military, and has a big focus on taking care of our vets.
“Geoff Diehl will be an outstanding governor for the state of Massachusetts, and it is my honor to give him my complete and total endorsement!”
Diehl served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 2011 to 2019. He also ran for Senate against Democratic incumbent Elizabeth Warren in 2018.
Also, Diehl tweeted a warning Monday that had been frequently raised by Trump amid the 2020 presidential election: The dangers of mass mail-in balloting.
“Today, I called on Governor Baker and Lt. Governor Polito to block the attempt to make mail-in voting permanent, and to support Voter ID. Check out my first floor speech on this topic, back in 2012”
