Local, state Republicans dispute Trump's 'unity' claim

BOSTON — In South Carolina, former President Donald Trump notched another primary victory Saturday as he seeks the GOP presidential nomination, declaring afterwards that he has never seen Republicans "so unified."

But do Republicans here in Massachusetts feel like they are all completely in sync?

While Trump appears likely to win over a majority of voters in the Massachusetts GOP primary next week, his latest candidacy has once again thrust into the spotlight divisions and difficult decisions among state Republicans.

The top Massachusetts House Republican is co-chairing the campaign of former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, the only major candidate still trying to defeat Trump in the primary election. His counterpart in the Senate GOP does not back a specific candidate, but pointedly disagreed Monday with Trump's assessment of party cohesion. And after her predecessor carved out a vocally pro-Trump position, the head of the MassGOP appears to be taking a more diplomatic approach.

Haley supporters are not just thinking about the presidential primary that Trump has dominated so far, either — they described concerns about negative spillover effects come November, especially after the party that holds superminority status in both state legislative chambers has notched a couple of recent wins.

"I'm worried if he's the nominee, it will hurt us in down-ticket races for sure in Massachusetts," said Rep. Hannah Kane, a Shrewsbury Republican and one of the co-chairs of Haley's campaign here. "We have a great new party chair who's doing great work, and under her leadership, we've won a (state) Senate seat. We have a lot of momentum. So anything that's going to move us backwards is not helpful for the party."

Alongside Kane, Haley's campaign team in Massachusetts features several well-known Republicans. Former MassGOP Chair Jennifer Nassour is leading the effort, joined by co-chairs including House Minority Leader Brad Jones, business leader Peter deSilva and Gov. Charlie Baker's former budget chief Mike Heffernan.

Seven other sitting state reps — Kim Ferguson, Paul Frost, Joseph McKenna, Mathew Muratore, Mike Soter, David Vieira and Don Wong — are also listed in Haley's Massachusetts camp.

"I think that the Republican party needs to go (in) a new direction from Donald Trump. It's just been a divisive four, eight years," McKenna, a Webster Republican, said. "And I think that would be an opportunity to unify."

Although he is listed on Haley's Massachusetts campaign team, Wong said he is "still undecided" about which candidate he'll be voting for Super Tuesday.

"I'm trying to weed out what's true and what not true about," the candidates, the Saugus Republican said. Asked what could be a deciding factor in picking a candidate, Wong said, "I don't think it's just one item. I think the main thing is what each candidate is going to do with migrants.

"I hope whoever gets in, we can have other countries respect our leadership," Wong added, claiming that's not currently the case under President Joe Biden.

Voters in 15 states including Massachusetts will weigh in March 5, often referred to as "Super Tuesday." Haley plans to rally Saturday with supporters at the Sheraton hotel in Needham.

After defeating Haley in her home state with nearly 60% of the vote Saturday, Trump has now swept each of the early primary election contests while facing charges in four criminal cases.

Trump's early success in this year's election cycle has his state campaign surrogates feeling good.

Former Bristol County Sheriff Tom Hodgson, who has long been a vocal Trump supporter and is now leading his campaign in Massachusetts, argued that the former president's message will resonate with state voters, particularly those who favor a more hardline stance on immigration.

"The cost of living — people are paying $5 to $7 for a pound of butter and at the same time their money is being given away, because they're giving to people who don't belong here to begin with," Hodgson said. "That's why you're going to see this issue. It crosses every issue from education to health care to crime in the streets."

Trump said following his South Carolina victory that he has "never seen the Republican party so unified as it is right now," according to CNN.

Some Massachusetts Republicans disputed that declaration.

"I don't feel that way at all, and I feel we have a long way to go as a party," said Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, who did not endorse a specific candidate in the primary.

Nassour, asked if she agreed with Trump's assessment, at first laughed before replying "no."

Posed with a similar question, Kane said, "First of all, Donald Trump says things that are patently false every day of the week.

"As a president, he was a divider. As a candidate, he is a divider," she added. "Nikki Haley is focused on being a unifier. She's what the country needs and she's what our party needs."

Hodgson, on the other hand, sought to distinguish between local Republican contests and party sentiment more broadly.

"Where you may find the back and forth is within the local elections and not around the national Republican party," he said. "At the end of the day, we are all unified and stand behind the man we know can get the job done."

MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale suggested Monday that Republicans are "united in the imperative to elect Republicans at every level, including the office of the President of the United States.

"While primaries inherently have the potential to create divisions within a party, be it Republican or Democrat, once we transition into the general election, I believe there will be a collective unity in the GOP on prioritizing victory," Carnevale said in a statement to the News Service.

Trump soared to victory in the 2016 presidential primary in Massachusetts, but his four years in office revealed major fault lines within the state party's ranks. Baker, a popular GOP governor, made a public point not to support Trump, and he often wound up at odds with former MassGOP Chair Jim Lyons, who was a vocal Trump backer.

Nassour, a Baker ally, said "the only thing that Trump and his minions like Jim Lyons have done to the (Massachusetts) Republican Party is fracture it more and more." Under Carnevale, Nassour said, the party "has definitely become more unified.

"When you have someone at the top of the ticket who is strong and who is appealing to a wide array of people and different political persuasions, it lifts all other candidates up," Nassour said. "Under Trump, in 2018, we lost. When Trump was on the ticket in '20, we all lost. In '22, (with) him getting involved in primaries, we lost."

With Super Tuesday just eight days away, the state Republican Party infrastructure appears to be neither carrying the banner for Trump nor trying to sway voters away from him.

The MassGOP opposed an effort to block Trump from the primary election ballot and Carnevale also personally joined Haley supporters in December to ensure Haley could get her name on the ballot, too.

Carnevale, who took the top party job last year, supported Trump's campaign in 2016, praised him during his time in office and then condemned the violent Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol, saying Trump "should have made absolutely clear that he was committed to the orderly transfer of power."

She told WBUR earlier this month that the MassGOP will back Trump if he wins the Republican nomination.

"At the end of the day, the Republican Party of Massachusetts would like to see a Republican elected President and Joe Biden not continue to serve another term, so we will support the Republican nominee," Carnevale told WBUR.

Nassour, who served as party chair when Democrat Gov. Deval Patrick was in office, said the party charter bars the chair and national committee members from weighing in on partisan primary contests. She called Carnevale's approach "completely fair.

"I think she has — I'm going to say — no choice but to support Trump if he is the nominee," Nassour said. "I'm hoping that it is a much easier choice by having Nikki Haley, personally."

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Local, Massachusetts Republicans dispute Trump's 'unity' claim