ICYMI: Geoff Diehl’s Extremism Forces MA GOP Field Further Right

Today, POLITICO Massachusetts put the influence of Geoff Diehl’s far-right candidacy on full display as the once “self-described moderate” Chris Doughty one week later now wants to identify as “a strong conservative Republican.”

In a race where Diehl has emerged as the frontrunner after earning Trump’s endorsement and forcing Charlie Baker out of the race, the only other Republican running is embracing more extreme and out-of-touch policies to have a chance in the primary.

“He left the door open to voting for Trump for president again,” POLITICO reported. “And Doughty stopped short of rejecting both conversion therapy and Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law in his WCVB interview.”

And in another sign of just how far to the right the primary is going, Doughty last month announced a running mate with a record of supporting conversion therapy, pushing harmful bans on abortion, opposing protections for workers against wage theft, and voting against paid sick leave.

Read key excerpts from the article below:

POLITICO: Doughty’s not so moderate after all

WHAT’S IN A WORD — Chris Doughty entered the governor’s race as a “self-described moderate.” Now he’s pushing back against that label.

“If I chose my own labels, it would be: pragmatic, common sense, businessman, fiscally conservative,” Doughty told WBUR last week. He cast himself similarly in a WCVB “On the Record” interview that aired Sunday, saying that the “Legislature is starting to lean further left. If there is ever the need and a time for a strong conversative Republican to hold back tax increases, it’s now.”

Doughty is often described as the more moderate rival of Geoff Diehl, a conservative former state representative who’s been endorsed by former President Donald Trump.

But Doughty has repeatedly lauded Trump’s trade policies with China. He left the door open to voting for Trump for president again. And Doughty stopped short of rejecting both conversion therapy and Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law in his WCVB interview, saying that he “would always lean towards the parents being the ones that make the decisions regarding age-appropriate teachings.”

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