MassGOP Contributions Plummet Post-Lyons – Group Takes in Lowest Amounts in Perhaps Decades

by Lonnie Brennan

It was a tough month, February 2023, for the Massachusetts Republican Party’s fundraising efforts. The group took in contributions from just three dozen (36) donors. Thirty-five of the contributions added up to a paltry $1,167.81;  the 36th contributor, long-forgotten liberal former party chair Jennifer Nassour – and friend of current chair Amy Carnevale – bailed out her friend with a $5,000 donation on the second-last day of the month to bring the total February contributions to $6,167.81 for the first full month of Carnevale’s reign.

Wait-and-See Attitude

“I found it underwhelming,” one Republican State Committee member related and asked to not disclose the member’s identity. “And no, don’t even ask me. I’ll tell you, I believe in the Party, but not this detour to the past. Amy will have to keep getting the Romneys and RINOs and Nassours to bail her out. Most folks I know are saving their resources to directly help candidates, not the Party. We’ll see how this shakes out, and I too will be on-hold for now. Let’s see how things go.”

The predominately liberal – so-called moderate wing – aka the Baker wing of the MassGOP, along with some former conservative-supported candidates gave Carnevale a few votes more than now past-chairman Jim Lyons in early January. This occurred after years of now-former Governor Charlie Baker and his top operatives working to direct all contributions away from the MassGOP and into entities that supported liberals and Democrats, including the so-called “Baker-PAC” which spent money to defeat Republicans. Lyons also had to contend with a divisive millionaire governor’s candidate who got crushed in the Sept. 2023 primary then refused to support the Republican nominee, etc. (see prior printed editions of the Broadside for that horrendous saga),

Newly Elected MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale

Keeping an Open Mind

“I don’t know what to tell you. I’m watching things. We seem in free-fall,” another currently anonymous state committee confidentially shared. “Amy has to prove herself to this side – you know, the non-liberals as you would say. So far, she’s given the treasurer a free-pass for his past actions of trying to sabotage Jim [Lyons], and I don’t know where things will go. I’m focusing on helping to grow our local committees. That’s where I’m putting my focus now. I’m not going to get caught up in he-said, she-said, and the Baker-side of the Party. I’m going to do the work that needs to be done to defeat Democrats.”

When asked about State Committee Woman Janet Fogarty who sent out an e-mail earlier this month asking all state committee members to donate $100 each per month to keep the ship afloat, the response was muted. “Where has she been the past four years? She shows up on a few Zoom calls. Now, now that Lyons is gone she wants to raise funds for the Party? Give me a break.”

Contribution Details

Contributions in February are listed below. Additional accounting funds of transferring funds from one bank account to another make the actual income look larger than the actual contributions; According to entries at the Mass. Office of Campaign and Political Financing, the MassGOP has closed it’s account at Berkshire Bank and transferred all funds to Leader Bank. Leader Bank is the bank used by the Charlie Baker committee. [Sidenote, despite deciding not to run for re-election, Baker managed to spend in excess of $700,000 from his campaign account during the past year-and-a-half.]

FEBRUARY 2023 DONATIONS TO THE MASSACHUSETTS REPUBLICAN PARTY AS REPORTED BY THE MASSGOP

SOURCE: Mass. Office of Campaign and Political Financing