New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
Michael P. Norton
State House News Service
While former President Donald Trump has been a punching bag for Democrats in Massachusetts and an awkward topic for the state’s moderate Republicans, the chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party is an unabashed Trump supporter and is newly touting his “one-on-one” meeting with Trump on Thursday.
In a fundraising email on Thursday night, Chairman Jim Lyons included a photo to mark the occasion of his meetup with Trump, which also included Lyons’ wife Bernadette. Referencing Republicans who recently committed to donating to the party if it underwent a leadership change, Lyons wrote, “We talked about the pay-to-play cabal’s $1 million bribe to ‘cancel’ my chairmanship of the Massachusetts Republican Party. I told him about our efforts to reform the MassGOP so that it works for you, the grassroots, and not the elites and the connected class on Beacon Hill.” Saying Trump “knows what it’s like to take on the establishment,” Lyons indicated that Trump is aware of the goings-on in Massachusetts, where Republican Gov. Charlie Baker, who has drawn support from unenrolled voters and Democrats to twice win elections, has not decided on whether to run for a third term.
“President Trump told me he’s with us all the way,” Lyons wrote. “He’s seen the work we’re putting in to bring a voter ID requirement to Massachusetts, ensure election integrity, and grow the grassroots. President Trump believes in Massachusetts Republicans … He knows we’re in the fight of our lives over the future of not just the Massachusetts Republican Party, but our commonwealth in general, and he’s willing to extend a helping hand.”
Last month, 16 individuals with a history of giving pledged to withhold donations to the GOP if Lyons remains in charge, according to The Boston Globe, and promised to raise $1 million for the party should it “reorient party leadership” and take “appropriate action to restore the Massachusetts Republican Party’s reputation.”
“The State Chair failed to denounce homophobia, used party resources to openly attack 29 of the elected Republican house members, is under investigation by law enforcement for potential campaign finance violations, and is facing calls for resignation from elected officials, past party Chairmen, and from major media outlets like the Boston Herald,” they wrote in a letter to the 80-member Republican State Committee. “Due to these events, we are no longer comfortable providing financial support to the MassGOP.”
Thursday’s meetup occurred at the Trump National Golf Club Westchester, which is located in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., according to a state GOP aide.
