Battling President Trump continued to be the main theme for Gov. Maura Healey’s campaign as the first-term governor brought in the Bay State’s Democratic political heavyweights to join her on a final campaign push in the weekend leading up to the election.
“Are you ready to fight? Are you ready to get out there and teach Donald Trump a lesson on Tuesday?” Sen. Ed Markey said in his very first sentence to voters at the Lawrence rally, as he failed to mention Healey’s name as he spoke against against Trump.
Markey was joined by Congresswoman Lori Trahan and state Attorney General Andrea Campbell at Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll’s Get Out The Vote rally in Lawrence Saturday morning before the entourage was joined later in Lynn by state Treasurer Deb Goldberg and Democratic congressional candidate Dan Koh joined the pro-Healey entourage.
“Gasoline prices are up, electricity prices are up, home heating oil prices are up, food prices are up, health care prices are up, and you know what else is up? The anger of the people in Lawrence and they are coming on Tuesday for Donald Trump and his supporters,” Markey continued.
Added Campbell: “We’ve been fighting against the Trump administration. And why is that important? Protecting our immigrants. Making sure that everything that is too expensive goes down, including your utility rates, your energy bills.”
Meanwhile, Trahan accused Republicans, both on Beacon Hill and Capitol Hill, of “fighting culture wars” while propping up Democrats of the same rank as focused on the most important domestic issues to voters.
“We deserve better. So that’s why we’re fighting to keep Maura Healey and Kim Driscoll in the corner office,” said Trahan.
Healey notably did not mention Trump by name during her speech, while she and Driscoll honed in on attacking Republican challenger Mike Minogue.
The governor began her speech in Spanish in a memorized opening script, thanking her Hispanic supporters, who make up a sizable portion of Lawrence, for turning out at the rally.
Following her Spanish monologue, Healey went right into attacking Minogue, accusing him of being against unions and community college while also continuing to attack Minogue’s push for Massachusetts to enroll in the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit.
“We need you as teammates out there knocking on doors, making phone calls, talking to your brothers and sisters and your sons and daughters and your abuelas and your abuelos to make sure that everybody’s got a plan to go vote on Tuesday,” Healey said.
Healey’s refusal to mention Trump continues a trend began with her appearance in the second and final gubernatorial debate, where she drastically reduced her mentioning of Trump from the first debate a week prior. Healey was criticized for pointing to Trump over 30 times in that debate.
Driscoll accused Minogue of trying to falsely portray himself as a “Charlie Baker Republican,” while also downplaying his experiences and successes in the private sector as assets.
“He was a business person. He was not a leader in a community. And he’s trying to fool all of us that he’s some kind of ‘Charlie Baker Republican’ who’s going to move Massachusetts forward. Do not be fooled,” Driscoll warned.
The lieutenant governor went on to criticize Minogue for his support of ICE and ambition to repeal the Protect Act, while falsely accusing him of wanting to “take away health care” and “harm health care workers.”
Minogue, in contrast, was the CEO of medical device technology company Abiomed for nearly 20 years.
Minogue started his Saturday off at Republican National Committeeman Brad Wyatt’s office in Worcester for a “Make a Plan to Vote” phone bank, before leading supporters in a door-knocking campaign in Peabody. The GOP candidate wrapped up the day for a meet and greet at Eire Pub in Dorchester.
On Sunday, the Healey-Driscoll team will make stops across the south coast — a newly-developed GOP stronghold and an expected battleground in the upcoming election. Congressman Bill Keating will join Healey at a rally in Plymouth Sunday morning while Markey and Goldberg rejoin the Healey campaign at a Worcester rally alongside Congressman Jim McGovern.
For Minogue, Sunday is set to begin with another meet and greet at Perry’s Plate in Andover before his wife, Renee, speaks to supporters at Cafeteria Hall in downtown Lawrence at 12:30. Minogue will wrap up his final campaign weekend with a rally at Leo’s Restaurants and Events in Braintree early Sunday night.
Healey and Minogue will face off in the general election on Tuesday.
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