Before the Republican Party convention slowed to a crawl during voting for the top of the ticket late Saturday afternoon, Republican delegates officially nominated three candidates for statewide seats by acclamation because they faced no intraparty opposition: John Deaton for U.S. Senate, Elizabeth Dionne for treasurer, and Michael Walsh for attorney general.
“We are rebuilding the Massachusetts Republican Party from the ground up, competing and winning its seats on school districts, boards of health and select boards. We are reaching out to younger voters, minority populations, independents and disaffected Democrats who share our values,” MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale said, kicking off the party convention at Worcester’s DCU Center.
By the afternoon, delegates grew restless as the convention ran behind schedule and voting for lieutenant governor remained open for longer than anticipated. The announcement of votes cast by county in the endorsement of candidate for lieutenant governor ended just after 4:30 p.m. Gubernatorial candidates Brian Shortsleeve, Mike Kennealy and Mike Minogue had not yet spoken to the convention and voting in that contest had not begun.
“You see this work represented here today in our candidates — all are welcome as we expand the tents of the MassGOP,” Carnevale continued in her morning remarks. “While we have been building our bench, hard line Democrats who rule Beacon Hill behind closed doors with secrecy and, too often, an iron fist, continue to ignore average citizens who are struggling to get by.”
Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr of Gloucester and Grafton Rep. David Muradian co-chaired the convention, where almost 2,400 delegates registered to participate, according to the party.
Deaton, a Marine veteran and attorney, earned the party’s endorsement unusually early in November, and on Saturday, accepted the nomination as the GOP’s candidate for U.S. Senate. He lost his last run for the U.S. Senate, to Elizabeth Warren in 2024, and in the fall will face the victor of a Democratic primary that includes incumbent Sen. Ed Markey, U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton and Alex Rikleen.
“I’m not running to push ideology on anyone. People aren’t looking for ideology. They’re looking for someone to help solve their problems,” Deaton told a rowdy crowd.
The News Service caught up with Deaton during the convention. He noted earning the party’s endorsement early allows him more time to get his message to voters – particularly independents and “disenfranchised” Democrats, he said.
“We’ve got a one-party rule here for a long time. Give somebody else a shot,” Deaton said, adding that single-party rule leads to “arrogance and corruption and people believing they don’t have to answer and be accountable to the people they serve.”
If sent to Washington D.C., which is currently controlled by Republicans, Deaton said he’d work outside the supermajority to advocate for Massachusetts residents. He has also been open about not voting for fellow Republicans across the country.
“I don’t care who the president is, because I’m going to do that simple test. Is it good in Massachusetts, in America? If it is, I support it. It isn’t, I don’t support it,” Deaton said.
Dionne, attorney and former chair of the Belmont Select Board, spent much of her time on the convention stage railing current Treasurer Deb Goldberg, who is running for a fourth term.
“Incumbent Deb Goldberg has failed us. It is time to clean up her cronyism, chaos and corruption,” she said.
“She is so unpopular in her own party,” Dionne said of Goldberg. “I have Democrats gathering signatures for me right now. They want her out. This is a winnable race because it’s not partisan. Who’s going to argue with running a clean, transparent office that returns more money to cities and towns? As a local official, we’re dying from lack of local aid.”
A spokesperson for Goldberg did not immediately respond to the News Service’s request for a response to Dionne’s comment.
To a cheering crowd, Dionne said her first act as treasurer would be auditing all 12 departments within the Treasury. Dionne also said she would work to send more local aid to municipalities in the face of the state’s affordability crisis.
“In the same way that Diana DiZoglio has raised people’s understanding of the auditor and how important that is, I’m doing the same thing for the treasurer’s office,” Dionne added.
Lynnfield lawyer Michael Walsh also earned the nomination for attorney general and is expected to face incumbent Democrat Andrea Campbell in the fall. Walsh has been involved with the ongoing dispute of the 2024 voter law that enabled the state auditor to audit the Legislature.
Incumbent Auditor Diana DiZoglio, a Democrat, has been feuding with Campbell over implementation of the voter-approved law since 72% of voters passed it in 2024. The two Democrats have been tied up in a legal battle for months, and Dizgolio has garnered bipartisan support for her efforts to implement the audit.
“I’m mad as hell that we don’t have an audit and I think you are too,” Walsh said during his convention speech. “I will be a people’s lawyer. We will wage a ruthless war on fraud and waste and abuse, starting with that audit.”
There are no Republican candidates for secretary of state or state auditor.
Katie Castellani and Ella Adams are reporters for the State House News Service and State Affairs Massachusetts. Reach them at kcastellani@statehousenews.com and ella.adams@statehousenews.com.
