Katie Castellani and Ella Adams
State House News Service
It took six words to get a crowd of tired and cranky Republican delegates fired up.
"Are you ready for the audit?" Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Minogue asked, along with two other questions, at the outset of his speech to the MassGOP convention on Saturday.
The crowd, filled with many who were frustrated with convention delays and disorganization, erupted in cheers and "yeas!"
Minogue was referring to the 2024 voter-approved law authorizing a different constitutional office, that of the state auditor, to audit the Legislature. The law, which 72% of voters supported, has both splintered Democrats and garnered bipartisan support, and been subject of ongoing disputes between Democratic Auditor Diana DiZoglio and fellow state government leaders.
For Massachusetts Republicans, it's a point of unity in the name of government transparency, along with a desire to curb rising costs and their frustrations with Democrats' one-party rule on Beacon Hill. It's these issues that have been drawing more voters into the party, Republicans said Saturday.
"We win by working together. 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 here in the commonwealth," MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale said during her speech at the DCU Center.
Carnevale said "voters are on our side" with regard to the audit, arguing that "Democrats will not enforce the will of the people."
Party Unity
Indeed, party members said Bay State Republicans are aligned on what they call common-sense issues of lowering costs and government accountability, primarily through the audit.
"We are united," said Mike Kennealy, who on Saturday narrowly fell short of the needed votes to get on September's ballot and later suspended his campaign for governor. "People like to say we're divided. We are united around a set of issues that are common sense, where I believe the majority of the people are around."
Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr of Gloucester said Massachusetts Republicans still believe in a "limited but effective government."
"They believe in personal freedom and responsibility, and they believe that the government should facilitate and not stand in the way of economic growth and prosperity. Those are the things that unite us," Tarr told the News Service.
"When you get beyond that, folks have different opinions about different issues. But there's a core here that you could ask every person in this convention hall and they would agree with those things," Tarr continued.
Almost every candidate for a statewide office brought up both affordability and the audit in their convention speeches as they lobbied for delegates' support.
GOP candidate for state treasurer Elizabeth Dionne, who is running against incumbent Deb Goldberg, said her first act if elected would be to audit all 12 departments within the treasurer's office. She quipped that "Massachusetts has become Taxachusetts on Red Bull."
"As the taxpayers' treasurer, I will root out wasteful spending so the local aid goes back to cities, towns and to the taxpayers," she said.
Asked about how unified state Republicans are, U.S. Senate candidate John Deaton pointed to the fact he got 85% of the party's backing for an unusually early endorsement in November. He said one-party rule is an issue because it leads to "arrogance and corruption and people believing they don't have to answer and be accountable to the people they serve."
Deaton is running against incumbent U.S. Sen. Ed Markey.
Frustrations with the current political establishment electrified the convention, and gubernatorial candidates sought to position themselves as political outsiders ready to shake up Beacon Hill.
"We are built to win and that is why the political establishment is fighting us," Minogue, the former CEO of biotech company Abiomed said during his speech. He went on to win the convention's endorsement by a landslide, with 70.38% of delegates' votes.
"I'm the only political outsider running for governor, and that gives me the freedom and the ability to fight for you," Minogue added.
Gubernatorial candidate Brian Shortsleeve, former MBTA chief administrator and acting general manager, sought to separate himself from politics calling himself a "turnaround specialist" and leaning on his background as a Marine. He earned 15.5% of delegates' votes, narrowly crossing the 15% threshold needed to keep his campaign on track for the Sept. 1 primary.
"I am not a politician," he said. "Like many of you, though, I've worked in the trenches of the Republican Party for years to support our candidates, because I believe this party is our best hope to bring real and positive change to this state and this nation."
Tarr, who has been on Beacon Hill for more than 35 years and leads the Senate minority caucus, said he doesn't take criticism of the Legislature personally.
"I've been on Beacon Hill a long time raising these issues and fighting for them, and so when I hear them acknowledged by folks who aspire to constitutional offices, I'm encouraged, because we have been working on these things, and we think that they're common sense, and these the kind of issues people want us to address," he said.
'Frustration' Seeding Growth
Republicans already in office and candidates said they aren't the only ones tired of Democrats' supermajority.
Shawn Oliver, who is running for lieutenant governor aligned with Shortsleeve, says he's witnessed "unseen" growth within the party.
"I think the biggest thing is frustration," he told the News Service. "People are frustrated. They're like, the government, you know, seems to not be working for everyone, and only a select few."
Tarr agreed, saying he has seen greater numbers of younger residents getting involved in the party. He added his own district had a larger – possibly a record – turnout for the convention than he's seen.
A majority of the state's voters are unenrolled, and Tarr said he's seen more of them leaning towards Republican priorities, even if they're not ready to register with the party yet.
"They may not be ready to make the move all the way to sign a registration card, but they are ready to go to the ballot box and make a change," he said.
Delegates boo a moderator at the MassGOP convention during an elongated voting period for lieutenant governor candidates on April 25, 2026 at the DCU Center in Worcester.
Kristin Davison, who identified herself as a consultant for Minogue's campaign, said Minogue has been attracting voters under 30. That's because younger residents are more likely to flee from Massachusetts seeking lower costs of living, she said. Minogue made himself available for a single question from reporters during the 12-hour convention.
Shortsleeve says he's noticed a "real desire for change" as independents feel "completely abandoned" by Democrats.
"Those are the people I'm talking to," he said. "It's that family around the kitchen table trying to figure out what bill to pay this month. It's small businesses, they're deciding the math doesn't work anymore in Massachusetts and moving out. And it's young people that are concluding it's too expensive to live here."
During the latest presidential election, Trump gained ground in Massachusetts. He received 36% of Bay State votes during the 2024 election, up from 31.2% in 2020 and 32.8% in 2016, according to the Associated Press' election results.
In 2024, Trump's vote share rose in five of the state's most populated cities: Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Cambridge and Lowell.
Splintered on Trump?
Donald Trump hats and paraphernalia peppered the arena in Worcester, as did candidate support for the 47th president.
"Politics is divisive. It's disruptive. It suffocates change. Showing up is an act of love," candidate for lieutenant governor Anne Brensley said on stage. Brensley, who later won the party endorsement, was endorsed by Minogue.
"Some of us showed up because the president of the United States has reached the core of our bones and made us unapologetic in our love for country," Brensley said. "Some of us showed up because the Healey-Driscoll administration doesn't understand that our home stretches from every corner of our community, and so protecting its character and its history is as important as protecting our home."
Anne Manning-Martin, another candidate for lieutenant governor, boasted that she voted for Trump three times, and Kennealy vowed to work with the Trump administration. Shortsleeve voted for Trump in 2024; Minogue has been a prolific GOP donor including to Trump efforts, and many of his supporters Saturday donned both Minogue and Trump gear.
While "Healey wants this election to be about Donald Trump," Shortsleeve said Trump is not on the ballot.
"I don't see it that way. This election is about families who sit at the kitchen table and debate which bill doesn't get paid this month," he said.
The Massachusetts Democratic Party has railed against the remaining Republican candidates for their support of Trump.
Deaton, meanwhile, has been vocal about his choice not to vote for Trump.
"The people of Massachusetts don't care about party politics, don't care about personalities in the White House," Deaton told the News Service.
"If you're tired of choosing between the electric bill and grocery bill, join me. If you're an independent or Democrat who's never voted Republican, or just sick of the status quo, join me. Because most of us believe in the same things I'm telling you," Deaton pitched to voters, naming lower taxes, less government overreach and "freedom and innovation in a country where hard work still matters."
"That's not even a Republican platform. It's an American platform," Deaton said.
As the event was going almost four hours overtime, after hosts tried to lift spirits of delegates with a mid-afternoon "YMCA" dance break, and before the party endorsement of a multi-millionaire for governor came to fruition, Tarr said he is seeing the party grow and thinks it's the beginning of "getting more balance" on Beacon Hill.
"Like most parties, and like most organizations and most movements, there are always people that have different perspectives, and the real challenge is trying to respect the core of things that we all believe in, and try to incorporate the diverse perspectives so that we form an effective movement," Tarr said.
He added, "And that is a challenge for this party, and I would argue for every party."