Mass General Brigham’s commitment to improving community health beyond hospital walls continues as we address food insecurity. Through our partnership with the Greater Boston Food Bank, we’re expanding access to nutritious food across the communities we serve.
Two years ago, John Deaton was a Rhode Island attorney, an unenrolled voter and a cryptocurrency proponent, gearing up to move to Massachusetts and take on Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
He would lose that race, but he’s since staged a not-so-hostile takeover of a nearly broke MassGOP and secured a place at the top of this fall’s Republican ticket. The party now finds itself in the arms of someone who has repeatedly taken aim at fellow Republicans, as well as the usual Democrats, while at the same time cautioning GOP candidates from criticizing each other.
When Republicans gather in Worcester this Saturday for their state convention, it looks like it’ll be Deaton’s show. “I’ll be the first candidate to speak at the convention and I plan on setting the tone – not just for the day – but for the entire election,” he recently wrote on the social media site X, where he posts often.
The state GOP needs him more than he needs the state GOP. Deaton has helped the party pay off its legal debts left over from past disastrous campaign cycles, cutting checks after he received the party’s endorsement in his second attempt at a Senate campaign, this time against longtime incumbent Ed Markey. (That’s also in contrast with Warren, who is the state’s highest-ranking Democrat, but also someone who has been more focused on national politics than her state party.)
Deaton’s efforts – which also include allowing his 2026 Senate campaign and the state party to share a spokesperson – seem to be paying off, at least for the party. The MassGOP ended March with a balance of just over $400,000.
The last time it had that much in the bank was 2019, just as former Andover rep Jim Lyons took over as chair. An ardent Donald Trump supporter, Lyons plunged the GOP into chaos. He narrowly lost the chairmanship to Amy Carnevale in 2023.
Under Carnevale – and Deaton – the new roster of candidates include a candidate for treasurer, Belmont select board member Elizabeth Dionne, and three gubernatorial candidates. Public polls show Markey winning the general election by more than 20 points. Lyons’ candidates included Donnie Palmer, a conspiracy theorist who ran against Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley and campaigned for votes in Revere, which is not in Pressley’s district. (Palmer lost by 70 points.)
Ahead of the convention, Deaton has boosted the three gubernatorial candidates, appearing with them in side-by-side clips that he promoted to his 426,000 followers on X. He also wrote, based on what he’d “seen and heard,” that medical device executive Mike Minogue “appears to be the front runner” in getting the support of delegates. “But until the votes are cast, no one knows for sure,” Deaton added.
He said he respects that Minogue has not dissed fellow Republicans and “run a positive campaign, thus far.”
That hasn’t stopped Deaton from leveling his own criticism at fellow Republicans like Trump. “Threatening to bomb power plants and bridges in Iran is not a strategy,” Deaton wrote on X after Trump did just that.
“This is your party, own it or leave it,” one X poster responded.
“One difference between you and me might be that you truly believe that there’s some big difference between the two parties. The rhetoric might be different. The results are the same,” the GOP candidate for Senate wrote back, as he hoped for different results in November.
Trivia time: Which Republican candidate for governor lost the convention but won the primary and the Corner Office? Bonus points for naming his GOP rival. Email me your answer here: [email protected].
AARP Massachusetts is calling for a statewide ban on cryptocurrency ATMs. These machines are a preferred tool for scammers. They operate without meaningful consumer protections. Millions have been stolen from residents across the Commonwealth. Lawmakers should act now and pass the SCAM Act (SB3048) to eliminate devices that fuel fraud. Join AARP in fighting crypto kiosk fraud and protecting older Americans’ life savings: aarp.org/ma
HAPPENING TODAY
10:00 | The American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts hosts its second annual statewide advocacy day. Sen. Sal DiDomenico, Rep. Dan Cahill and AFT Massachusetts President Jessica Tang are slated to speak. AFT members and leadership are expected to speak about issues in the fiscal 2027 budget and legislative priorities heading into the end of the legislative session. | Room 437, State House, Boston
11:00 | The Governor's Council holds a hearing for attorney Vincent DeMore, who was nominated to the Parole Board on April 15. DeMore is a co-founder of the legal and strategic communications firm Henning Strategies LLC. DeMore worked in the Suffolk County district attorney's office for more than a decade. | Council Chambers, State House, Boston
12:45 | Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll chairs a meeting of the Governor’s Council. | Council Chambers, State House, Boston
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Senior Accountant — NEW!, Massachusetts Housing Partnership |
Assistant Director of Parks and Open Space, City of Newton |
Vice President of Client Services, Lifebridge North Shore |
Deputy City Clerk and Elections Manager, City of Newton |
Senior Financial Investigator, Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General |
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AROUND TOWN: EX-BAKER AIDE’S NEW JOB, AOC IN BOSTON
William “Billy” Pitman, a former communications aide to Gov. Charlie Baker, is the new executive director of Massachusetts Chemistry & Technology Alliance (MCTA). The organization, which has a board chaired by a partner at Springfield-based Astro Chemicals Inc., represents manufacturers and distributors of chemistry. Pitman replaces Katherine Robertson, who served in the job for more than a decade. Pitman’s resume includes stints as chief of staff at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the Registry of Motor Vehicles. He lives in Sandwich with his family.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a potential 2028 presidential contender, is coming to Boston to help out fellow “Squad” member Ayanna Pressley. Pressley’s reelection campaign is fundraising off a “fireside chat” with Ocasio-Cortez, also known as AOC, set for Boston. Access to the Friday evening event – the location hasn’t been formally announced – costs $60 for general admission and $250 for a “meet and greet.”
Bob Hedlund, the former Weymouth mayor and Republican state senator, has endorsed Mike Kennealy’s gubernatorial campaign and that of his running mate, Anne Manning Martin. “With his background in business, education, and government, and hers in law enforcement and local government, they are more than qualified to lead our Commonwealth. It’s time for Republicans to unite behind the candidate who can defeat Maura Healey in November and without question, that candidate is Mike Kennealy,” Hedlund said in a statement.
SUFFOLK DA: Another fundraiser next week for DA Hayden, with some bold-faced names headlining it as he readies to likely face two challengers
— Gintautas Dumcius (@gintautasd.bsky.social) 2026-04-21T14:21:43.401Z
On May 4, Massachusetts REALTORS® unite as one powerful voice at the annual Margaret C. Carlson REALTOR® Day on Beacon Hill. This year, REALTORS® are fighting to increase housing access by advancing zoning reform, housing production, fair housing education, funding for crumbling concrete foundations, and pre-service board & commission training—and opposing real estate transfer taxes and rent control.
FROM BEACON HILL
SOCIAL MEDIA EXPLAINER: An explainer takes on social media legislation pending on Beacon Hill, which carries proposed age restrictions. – CommonWealth Beacon
STATE LAW LOOPHOLES: Child victim advocates are pressing lawmakers to close what they call loopholes in state law. The group Enough Abuse is pushing for the approval of bills criminalizing sexual assault by adults in positions of authority and require schools to set up child sex abuse prevention policies. – Eagle-Tribune
NEWS NEXT DOOR
CONTRACT SECRECY: A veil of secrecy has come down on the contest for the MBTA’s commuter rail contract, with non-disclosure agreements and demands that the entities bidding for the contract run requests to meet with local or state elected officials through the T. – Boston Globe
‘ARBITRARY AND CAPRICIOUS’: A federal judge in Boston agreed with renewable energy groups that the Trump administration’s actions against wind and solar permitting were likely “arbitrary and capricious.” – Boston Business Journal
WORLD CUP PLANNING: Local organizers of the World Cup matches set to take place in Foxborough this summer offered updates on planning for the free fan festival on Boston City Hall Plaza, encouraged the use of public transportation and left the door open to “tail-gating” in Gillette Stadium’s parking lot. – CBS Boston
PROBATION FOR EX-COUNCILOR: Former Cambridge City Councilor Paul Toner has reached an agreement with prosecutors to get probation following a charge of visiting a brothel network. – Cambridge Day
RETIREMENT BOARD: Michael Sacco, the attorney working for the Quincy Retirement Board, was paid as the full-time CEO of the Worcester Regional Retirement System but focused on expanding his private law practice, a state inspector general’s report found earlier this year. – Patriot Ledger
PALMER STATION: A train station may not come to Palmer until 2033 as MassDOT pushes ahead with new east-west Amtrak train service between Springfield and Boston by 2030. Advocates of the Palmer station are hoping to speed up the timeline by tapping millionaires tax revenues. – MassLive
Join legislators and thought leaders for a timely forum on the AI revolution in Massachusetts. Explore the challenges and opportunities of AI policy on Thursday, May 7, at the MCLE (Boston). RSVP!
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JOB BOARD
Do you have an open job you'd like to feature here? Click here to place a job board order, or email Dylan Rossiter at [email protected].
Investigator, Division of State Police Oversight, Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General
Senior Litigation Paralegal – Strategic Litigation, Conservation Law Foundation
Systems Advocacy Fellow, Jane Doe Inc
Joan and Irwin Jacobs Program Officer for American Institutions, Society, and the Public Good, American Academy of Arts & Sciences
Information Management Counsel & Records Access Officer, Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission
