In gov primary, GOP super PACs raising cash and slugging it out online

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Political conflict is often driven by time and money. The GOP primary for governor has all three things these days, with a former Reebok executive cutting a check to help fuel some of the fighting.

Outside groups have taken the gloves off, in particular, as the remaining two Republicans candidates scrap over who gets to take on Gov. Maura Healey, the Democrat running for a second term, in November. Super PACs can raise and spend without limits as long as they don’t coordinate with the candidate they’re supporting.

They are allowed, however, to take their cues from public statements that candidates make, and pull in publicly available content and repurpose it for their own ads.

Massachusetts First, the super PAC backing Mike Minogue, and Commonwealth Unity, which supports Brian Shortsleeve, have been firing off such messages online, some AI-generated, following Minogue’s victory at the state GOP’s convention with 70% of delegates voting for him. (The two camps have been also squabbling over whether the insiders who spent a Saturday inside a Worcester convention center are actually insiders.)

The Minogue super PAC, headed up by a longtime friend of the medical device executive, has been amplifying calls for Shortsleeve to drop out ahead of the Sept. 1 primary after the former MBTA chief made the primary ballot with 15% of delegates. “Every shot he takes at Mike is a shot Healey doesn’t have to take herself,” the super PAC’s X account charged. “It’s selfish, it’s egomaniacal. It’s the ‘sour grapes’ of an insider who lost.”

“September 1st is when Massachusetts speaks,” the Shortsleeve super PAC, run by a former aide to Scott Brown and Mitt Romney, said in a social media statement. “Not before. That’s the only result that matters.”

The Shortsleeve super PAC has raised $400,000 so far this year. That’s in addition to the $1.1 million it raised last year, half of it coming from 11 companies that have ties to Carruth Capital. Separately, Paul Finnegan, a Chicago investor who hails from Scituate, threw in another $25,000 in March after donating the same sum last year.

The Minogue super PAC is primarily funded by its leader, Rob Neuner. He’s contributed $500,000 of the $957,000 the outside group has raised. Neuner, CEO of an oxygen-in-a-can company, has known Minogue since they were children.

But the Minogue super PAC has also pulled in tens of thousands of dollars from others, including former Reebok executive Paul Fireman, who has a history, based on publicly available filings with state campaign finance regulators, of largely giving to local Democrats. (He also hosted a fundraiser for Mitt Romney during the 2012 presidential campaign.)

Fireman has previously cut checks to the state Democratic Party, Gov. Deval Patrick and the late Boston mayor, Tom Menino. More recently, he donated twice last year to Dan Koh, a Democrat vying for Seth Moulton’s congressional seat.

New Hampshire’s Mary Lou and Peter LeSaffre, who like Minogue donated to President Trump’s 2025 inauguration fund, each donated $25,000 to Minogue’s super PAC.

Republican strategist Chris Russell, who is working for the super PAC, says the outside group played a “small role” in supporting Minogue’s win at the convention, and was the first Minogue-aligned entity to call for Shortsleeve to suspend the campaign. “Over the next few months we look forward to continuing to build a broad coalition of donors and supporters focused on electing Mike Minogue,” he wrote in an email.

A third gubernatorial super PAC that backed Mike Kennealy —the former Charlie Baker administration official who suspended his campaign after getting less than 15% at the convention — has not filed any new reports since it acknowledged raising $86,000 at the end of last year.

Filings from the Office of Campaign and Political Finance should be available intravenously. If you spot something as you’re making your own perusals, please send it along: [email protected].

HAPPENING TODAY

5:50 | UMass Boston Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco will host House Majority Leader Michael Moran and House Ways and Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz at a Vatican summit where they’ll talk climate resilience. | Rome | Access

10:00 | The Massachusetts affiliate of the Council for American Private Education holds its annual lobby day. Speakers include Senate Ways and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues and Reps. Jamie Murphy, Brandy Fluker-Reid and Jeff Turco. Former Lt. Gov. and Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce CEO Tim Murray will urge the governor to opt into a new federal scholarship tax credit. | Room 428, State House, Boston

11:00 | Attorney General Andrea Campbell appears on “Boston Public Radio” as part of the “Ask the AG” segment. | GBH News YouTube

12:00 | Senate President Karen Spilka speaks to Associated Industries of Massachusetts. Business groups are watching Beacon Hill for signals on key issues like immigration, energy affordability, tax policy and more. This July will mark eight years as Senate president for Spilka; senators removed a limit on the president's term during her tenure. | New England Aquarium, 1 Central Wharf, Boston | More Info and Register

1:00 | The Local Government Advisory Commission meets. Agenda includes an update from the Executive Office for Administration and Finance on revenue collections. The agenda also includes discussions about the governor’s Municipal Empowerment Act and the environmental bond bill. | Room 157, State House, Boston

3:15 | Gov. Maura Healey hosts a press conference with Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart announcing the musical talent performing at the 2026 Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular concert on July 4th at the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade. The press conference will also include additional updates and previews related to the event, commemorating the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. | Room 151, Menino Convention & Exhibition Center, Summer St., Boston | Livestream

4:00 | A wake is held through 7 p.m. for State Police Trooper Kevin Trainor, 30, who was killed May 6 in a collision while responding to a wrong-way driver call in Lynnfield. Gov. Maura Healey attends. | Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home, 82 Lynn St., Peabody

4:30 | Gov. Maura Healey is scheduled to speak alongside Boston Mayor Michelle Wu as the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce holds its 2026 annual meeting. The event, expected to draw more than 1,500 business, government, and civic officials. | Menino Convention and Exhibition Center, 415 Summer St., Boston

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FROM BEACON HILL

FIRED HEALEY AIDE: LaMar Cook, the Healey administration aide who was fired after an indictment on drug trafficking charges, is arguing that he should be able to keep $31,000 in unused vacation time because he was fired “via email” before he was charged. – Boston Globe

GAS TAX CALL: GOP candidate for governor Brian Shortsleeve called on Gov. Maura Healey to suspend the gas tax as President Trump’s Iran war has continued to cause pain at the pump. – MassLive

FUNDING LOSS: A grant program set up by a 2020 state law, meant to fund job training and high school dropout prevention, and addiction treatment, does not receive funding in the fiscal 2027 budget as currently proposed. Sen. Liz Miranda is pushing for $15 million to keep it going. – GBH News

Private investment in battery storage projects is expected to save consumers billions of dollars and support a reliable electric grid.

NEWS NEXT DOOR

MORE HEADING IN: The in-person office work rate in Boston rose 4% year-over-year in April, though office occupancy remains well below pre-pandemic levels. The increase comes as more companies are pushing ahead with in-office work requirements, including Fidelity and TD Bank. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said she hopes other companies will follow. – Boston Business Journal and WBUR

FARM BILL: A federal farm bill on the move in Congress has a provision that would pre-empt animal welfare and agricultural protection laws in Massachusetts and California. Massachusetts voters in 2016 signed off on a ballot question that banned the sale of eggs, veal and pork from farm animals held in confining cages. – Eagle-Tribune

COUNCIL UNDER FIRE: Some members of Boston’s Black community are voicing frustrations with city councilors, particularly Mayor Michelle Wu’s allies. Former Sen. Dianne Wilkerson is among the members. – Boston Globe

CAMPBELL TRIAL: Jury selection of accused rapist Alvin Campbell Jr. started in Suffolk Superior Court on Monday. Campbell is the brother of Attorney General Andrea Campbell, who released a statement saying, “I am praying for the survivors and all those affected. It takes extraordinary courage to come forward, and they deserve dignity and respect.” – Boston Herald

PEACE IN WELLESLEY: Town Meeting members in Wellesley voted in favor of working with the state on housing plans for the five-acre lot at MassBay Community College, rather than directly going into litigation. The non-binding referendum drew just over 200 votes. – Swellesley Report

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