Pols & Politics: A burning debate over Trump is dividing local Republicans ahead of 2026

To MAGA or not to MAGA Massachusetts Republicans face that question ahead of the vote And whether or not to embrace or even tacitly acknowledge President Donald Trump is causing major division this year in the local Republican party Debates are raging between conservative influencers and pundits on social media while political strategists are weighing whether and how their clients should address a president whose actions generate polarizing reactions all across the United States Indeed Mike Kennealy a former secretary under Gov Charlie Baker who is running for governor as a Republican has faced backlash for telling a local Republican town committee earlier this year that he did not vote for Trump or Kamala Harris in But on the flip side he was swiftly labeled MAGA Mike Kennealy by the Massachusetts Democratic Party as part of a strategy to tie any Republican running for office in to the president in the hopes that left-leaning independent voters will walk away from them Inside the Massachusetts Republican Party voters are arguing about just how close they want their candidate to be to Trump Specific say that Republicans running for office must at least acknowledge what they consider to be accomplishments by the Trump administration this year Others counter that sidestepping Trump or ignoring him wholly is the only way to draw in unenrolled voters who are no fans of Trump but are also not happy with Democrats iron-clad grip on the Legislature Congressional seats and constitutional offices in Massachusetts John Deaton who ran last year as a Republican against U S Sen Elizabeth Warren noted there are multiple moderate Democrats who feel disenfranchised in Massachusetts because the party is too far left Republicans he revealed should be working to convince them to vote for their candidates Deaton faced pushback during his campaign last year for holding chosen stances that the right wing of the Republican Party disliked He also admitted during the program of his run against Warren that he has never been a Trump voter But he still considers himself a center-right person We live in Massachusetts and are you really going to take the position that because you think I m not conservative enough that there s no difference between me and Ed Markey or me and Elizabeth Warren That is a foolish quite frankly idiotic position to take Deaton narrated the Herald in an interview this past week Deaton earned of the million votes cast in his race against Warren or more than Trump earned in his matchup against former Vice President Kamala Harris according to certified balloting content from Secretary of State William Galvin s office Republicans who want candidates to acknowledge or further embrace Trump s ideology often point to the gains that he made in Massachusetts last year compared to his ballot in He won cities and towns in the state last year including that had gone for President Joe Biden in But conservative candidates in Massachusetts especially those running for governor or other statewide offices are expected to face a complicated road The Trump factor poses only one hurdle political hopefuls are also dealing with fundraising and name recognition challenges according to experts who previously spoke to the Herald Wendy Wakeman a veteran Republican political strategist stated she agrees that the never Trumpers and the MAGA MAGAs of the Massachusetts Republican Party need to unify She also noted a candidate does not necessarily need to swear loyalty to Trump but they must be able to talk about him without fear They tend to pull us apart and that s not good she announced of the two wings of the MassGOP I m not saying that you have to be a Trump loyalist in order to carry the banner for our party in but you must be able to acknowledge that the national Republican leader of the party is doing a heck of a job Deaton who is weighing another challenge to U S Sen Ed Markey in commented a Republican candidate should not run against Trump but should run on the same principles as the president Here in Massachusetts you have to thread the needle he noted Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill Boston HeraldCandidate for Governor Mike Kennealy chats with the Boston Herald last month Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill Boston Herald Nancy Lane Boston HeraldBoston MA Republican candidate for U S Senate John Deaton speaking during his campaign to unseat Sen Elizabeth Warren last year Nancy Lane Boston Herald Pols Politics logo Boston Herald