Are Massachusetts Democrats trying to throw New Hampshire’s elections under the bus–literally?
The ads are all over the left-of-center internet:
“The bus will depart from downtown Boston at 10:00 AM for New Hampshire,” the ad reads. “You’ll be canvassing to support Harris-Walz, Joyce Craig, Maggie Goodlander, and Democrats up and down the ballot.”
The Massachusetts Democratic Party is on board as well.
“The passion and energy of Massachusetts Democrats know no bounds!” MassDems Chairman Steve Kerrigan boasted in a recent pitch for volunteers. “Just look at the numbers: Over 1,200 volunteers from Massachusetts have knocked on more than 38,586 doors in New Hampshire alone.”
Kerrigan’s fundraising email featured photos of U.S. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healey campaigning on the ground in the Granite State. In fact, Healey has been a frequent campaign companion of the New Hampshire Democratic nominee for governor — so much so that left-leaning NHPR asked Craig about it during their recent gubernatorial debate.
“How much do you see Massachusetts as a model for New Hampshire?” asked NHPR’s Josh Rogers. “And if you don’t, why are you logging so much time with Gov. Healey and her financial backers? You spend day upon day after day, seemingly campaigning with her? Why?”
“It’s a friend of mine,” Craig answered. “Like other people, I have friends from out of state. I haven’t spent an excessive amount of time with her.”
Gov. Maura Healey (D-Mass.) and a group of Massachusetts volunteers campaign with NH Dem nominee for governor Joyce Craig (center) and U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan (right).
The Craig campaign would not respond to questions about the role Massachusetts Democrats are playing in her campaign.
It’s true that cross-border campaigning is nothing new. But this year, some Granite State Republicans say it’s different. For one thing, the volume of activity and the profile Democrats are giving it seems higher than in the past.
“The amount of out-of-state volunteers coming to New Hampshire this general election season is a surprise,” said former New Hampshire Republican Party Chairman Fergus Cullen. Then again, he added, “There’s nothing easier than filling a bus in Harvard Square for a day of door-knocking in Hillsborough County on behalf of some progressive candidate.”
Another difference from past cross-border campaigns? There wasn’t a GOP candidate for governor like Kelly Ayotte urging voters, “Don’t ‘MASS’ Up New Hampshire!'”
Patrick Hynes, who has worked as a New Hampshire advisor for four different GOP presidential campaigns, said the MassDems’ high-profile investment in the Granite State is playing right into Ayotte’s hands.
“Kelly Ayotte is right,” he told NHJournal. “Joyce Craig and the Massachusetts Democratic Party want to ‘Mass Up’ New Hampshire.
“It appears Joyce Craig’s campaign generates so little enthusiasm among Granite State Democrats that she has to bus in pro-income tax, pro-illegal immigration activists from Massachusetts.”
One reason for this year’s massive influx, according to Cullen, is the lack of competitive races in Massachusetts.
“New Hampshire is a relief valve, an outlet for activists to work off their nervous energy where it might, theoretically, affect an outcome. At least when (former Republican U.S. Sen.) Scott Brown was running in Massachusetts, local Dems had their hands full at home.
“Part of it is the lack of competitive governor races anywhere, and the opportunity to flip an open seat.”
Cullen recalled that when then-former Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen defeated incumbent GOP U.S. Sen. John Sununu in 2008, she took advantage of her previous role as director of the Harvard University Institute of Politics.
“She had a bunch of Harvard students campaigning for her,” Cullen said.
Greg Moore, regional director of Americans for Prosperity, is a veteran of New Hampshire campaigns.
“We see this every presidential year, where Massachusetts folks travel here to influence our elections,” Moore said, and it’s “valuable” to Granite State Democrats.
At the same time, he added, “It certainly does nothing but advance Ayotte’s narrative that Craig wants New Hampshire to be more like Massachusetts.”
The Ayotte campaign recently made headlines with a mobile billboard depicting Healey and Craig together with the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge in the background, highlighting a fundraising trip to Berkeley and in San Francisco.
From a Massachusetts perspective, Boston-based Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance spokesman Paul Craney countered that while “it will definitely help New Hampshire Democrats’ chances,” it “will also come at a cost.”
“They’ve clearly weighed the benefit vs. the cost and think enough New Hampshire voters won’t care,” Craney said. “It gives some further credibility to Ayotte’s accusation.
“There is little debate that New Hampshire’s competitive edge is hurting Massachusetts, by relocating taxpayers, businesses, and consumers to New Hampshire.”
Craney also floated a theory to try and explain why the governor of Massachusetts is spending so much time stumping for votes in New Hampshire.
There could be something in it for Healey, too.
“One of the best ways to make Massachusetts look better is if New Hampshire elects a pro-tax governor,” Craney said, referencing Craig’s support for reviving the 5 percent state tax on interest and dividends that’s due to expire in January. “That’s probably one of the main reasons for why Maura Healey and her campaign team care so much about flipping the state Democratic.
“They have no solution to make Massachusetts more competitive, because they don’t believe in lowering taxes, so their next best move is to elect a pro-tax governor.”
So, will Massachusetts Democrats get Granite State voters to follow their lead? Hynes doesn’t think so.
“I don’t think New Hampshire voters will be fooled,” he said. “They understand that New Hampshire is the best state in the nation because we reject the goofy, lefty politics of the Bay State.”
