Michael P. Norton
State House News Service
Republican candidate for governor Brian Shortsleeve says the new UMass Amherst/WCVB poll shows he's in a "stronger position" than primary opponent Mike Minogue to take down Gov. Maura Healey in November.
But the Shortsleeve campaign left out a few important details in making its claim Tuesday.
"Mike Minogue says Republicans should nominate him because he has the money to defeat Maura Healey. But since entering the race nearly a year ago, Minogue has spent more than ten times what Brian has on television advertising, yet Brian Shortsleeve is still performing better against Healey," Shortsleeve spokesperson Pat Nestor said in a statement. "There is a reason Democrats are boosting Minogue in the primary with ads appealing to supporters of President Trump - because he is the candidate they want to run against so they can attack him on abortion and corporate scandals as a wealthy healthcare CEO. And there is no amount of money that will change that."
The Shortsleeve campaign didn't mention that the poll shows both Shortsleeve (51%-32%) and Minogue (53%-33%) running behind Healey by nearly identical margins. Nor did it mention that the statewide poll found Minogue leading Shortsleeve 53%-26% in the Republican gubernatorial primary that voters will settle on Sept. 1.
"Mike Minogue has gone from being a relatively unknown candidate to the clear frontrunner for the Republican nomination," Raymond La Raja, professor of political science at UMass Amherst and co-director of the poll, said in a statement. "The striking thing is not simply that he leads Brian Shortsleeve, but that he has consolidated support across most parts of the Republican primary electorate."
Nestor told the News Service the poll shows that Minogue's spending is not elevating his prospects against Healey and said the Shortsleeve campaign expects a bump from ads that began running while the poll was being conducted Aug. 5-12 and continue to run.
