GOP governor’s candidates squabble over importance of endorsements

A battle over the importance of endorsements has broken out among GOP candidates for governor Challenger Mike Minogue s campaign says the long list of endorsements racked up by competitors Mike Kennealy and Brian Shortsleeve mean very little if anything Former Republican nominee for governor and senate Geoff Diehl who s backing Minogue tells the Herald that getting out to meet and gather input from voters is much more valuable Endorsements didn t decide my races and they won t decide this one Mike Minogue isn t running to impress political elites He s running to listen to the people of Massachusetts commented Diehl who in the last few days delivered his own endorsement to Minogue While the other campaigns chase Beacon Hill approval and questionable supporters Mike is building something real with voters Minogue has been hitting the pavement since launching his campaign holding meet-and-greets and other events across the state The GOP megadonor hasn t been shy about using his wallet either donating millions to his campaign and spending early on TV advertisements Diehl who had unsuccessful bids for Massachusetts Senator in and Governor in says Kennealy and Shortsleeve are political insiders adding that success at the state Republican convention isn t invariably earned by a long list of endorsements The point we re trying to make in this cycle is you ve got two candidates who are political insiders who seem to think pushing out endorsements from politicians is pivotal It doesn t necessarily translate to success at the convention In fact I think the opposite the more you re veritably out there meeting with people and taking input from actual citizens which is what Mike s doing every day the more profitable you re going to be noted Diehl pointing to a modern Minogue event Mike just had an event down on the Cape with over people Mike is inviting the average Massachusetts citizen to weigh in and tell him what s crucial rather than trying to take the advice of Beacon Hill insiders he announced But Minogue s rivals are pushing back Kennealy Campaign Communications Director Logan Trupiano says Minogue is disrespecting voters calling out Minogue for his past donations to Democrats as well as modern comments he made on WBUR where he seemed to distance himself from the Republican Party among other things Mike Minogue is a mega donor to Ed Markey and the Massachusetts Democratic Party who by his own admission feels no association with the Republican Party that he joined a scarce months ago for the sole purpose of running for Governor and seeing himself on TV Trupiano mentioned After months of declining invitations to meet the grassroots he s now telling moderators he necessities at least six more months of coaching before he s ready to stand on a debate stage with Mike Kennealy Minogue should stop claiming he will be a new kind of Governor because there is nothing new about disrespecting the intelligence of voters Maura Healey does it daily Trupiano noted As for the Shortsleeve campaign strategist Holly Robichaud says Minogue is absolutely frustrated that his spending on campaign advertisements have not translated to success Brian Shortsleeve is winning assistance across the Commonwealth because he has a proven record of reforming establishment balancing budgets cutting costs and creating jobs He will make Massachusetts affordable by slashing Maura Healey s insane taxes fees and regulations Mike Minogue is frustrated because he spent millions of dollars on television to say nothing and wonders why he isn t making any progress with his campaign Robichaud informed the Herald If Republicans are going to defeat Healey it s going to take more than a big checkbook We need to offer a stark contrast and a better path forward not a fainter version of her happy talk she disclosed Diehl s criticisms come as the Shortsleeve and Kennealy campaigns continue to garner sponsorship Last week the two candidates disclosed a lengthy list of new endorsements with Kennealy boasting new endorsements with Shortsleeve announcing another for himself The Minogue camp s criticisms however don t stop at the push to highlight endorsements Diehl commented the backing collected by Minogue s competitors is a impact of insider connections through their past work in the Baker Administration Shortsleeve was the MBTA s first-ever Chief Administrator from - while Kennealy served as former Gov Charlie Baker s Secretary of Housing and Economic Rise Mike got into this without insider connections He s a self-made productive businessman who is never going to be beholden to cutting deals on the campaign trail or in office He s spending his time listening to voters not chasing the approval of Beacon Hill Diehl disclosed Mike is letting actual citizens tell him what matters The other campaigns are pushing out endorsements from the same political insiders who ve been running this place for years Mingoue Kennealy and Shortsleeve will face off in the Republican primary in September Libby O Neill Boston HeraldBrian Shortsleeve left a venture capitalist and a former MBTA official and Mike Kennealy right a former state cabinet secretary are both running for governor of Massachusetts as Republicans Herald file photos