FROM OUR JUNE 2026 PRINTED EDITION (one of many stories and first-hand accounts]

MassGOP Convention Goes Down in History as a Complete Disaster

By Brian Camenker

Executive Director,

MassResistance.org

This year’s MassGOP convention, held April 25 at the DCU Center in Worcester, was a huge disaster and embarrassment. It was certainly the worst-run convention in anyone’s memory. The entire convention was supposed to be finished by 5 p.m. At 8 p.m. it was still going. As a result of all the disorganization and dysfunction, a large percentage of the delegates left before the big vote for governor.

All day people were asking: Was that on purpose? Republicans have been organizing well-run conventions for a very long time. It would almost seem difficult to run it this badly by accident.

Let’s be honest: All the indications had been that Mike Minogue was so popular with delegates that he would run the table – and neither of the two other candidates would get the necessary 15% convention vote to be on the primary ballot. It was also believed that Brian Shortsleeve was the favorite of the GOP establishment. But since so many Minogue delegates (many of whom were elderly) had left the building when the gubernatorial vote finally took place, Shortsleeve squeaked in with just over 15%.

Of course, there’s no proof of anything. But from the beginning it looked to me like the aim was to make it as hard as possible to be a “grassroots” delegate voting for governor. Let’s look at what happened:

1. The GOP portal for each RTC chairman to enter the names of his delegates was absurdly difficult to use. I think a few just gave up. I almost did.
2. The delegate fee was $150. Then one day the GOP announced it was jumping to $200. Why wasn’t this known in advance? Many people who hadn’t paid at that point also just gave up. (The Mass. Democrats’ delegate fee this year is $85, with a $20 addition after May 1.)
3. Paying the fee online was confusing. They had it set up as if it was a donation to the MassGOP. But it wasn’t a donation. It was a delegate fee.
4. Delegates had been sent emails warning that if you weren’t in the building by 10 a.m., the doors would be locked and you couldn’t enter after that. (As you’ll see, they didn’t enforce that!)
5. But on the morning of the convention, the registration table process was so hideously disorganized that at 8:00 a.m. the line outside the building already stretched about a football field long! Many people saw that and just left. I got there about 8:30 a.m. and didn’t get into the building until after 10:30. And then there was another 45-minute wait inside to get registered. When I was finally in, there was still a big line outside.
6. Luckily, those of us who were in line missed hearing Howie Carr’s speech (given remotely), which came near the beginning. Recall that in the recent State Committee elections, Carr led a terribly vicious campaign against the conservative candidates. Having him speak was purposefully meant to be insulting to everyone who backed those candidates.
7. Even worse, the master of ceremonies was Sen. Bruce Tarr, who regularly votes with the Democrats. Tarr even voted “yes” on the Democrats’ despicable “Protect Act” that bars ICE from arresting illegal immigrant criminals in Massachusetts.
8. The initial floor vote was for lt. governor. The process was almost comically disorganized, and dragged on for nearly three hours. People needed to use phone flashlights to even see the absurd checkoff sheet that each district was given for marking their delegates’ votes.
9. At that point, so many people were leaving that the Minogue campaign opened up a free pizza and beer area for delegates so they’d stay longer. Minogue’s people were also at the doors trying to talk people out of leaving. But unfortunately it wasn’t enough. When the governor vote finally took place (sometime around 8 p.m.) enough Minogue people had left that Shortsleeve squeezed through the 15% barrier.

If there was a bright spot in this dark day it was the speeches by the candidates for the various offices. They were all well done and very inspiring. They made us feel great about being Republicans. It’s too bad that the convention organizers let them down.

It’s easy to blame Amy Carnevale for this mess. But the real blame goes to the State Committee members. They oversaw all of this. The ones I talked to could see what was happening well in advance. But they either chose to go along with it, or, in many cases, they actively participated in the debacle. I’m not aware of any of them who stood up in defiance, as so many of the RINO members did to Jim Lyons.

If this convention disaster teaches us anything, it should be that we need a clean sweep in the next State Committee elections.    ♦

[Editor’s Note:  The writer’s blanket statement regarding state committee members is clearly meant for chair Amy Carnevale and the Democrat-enablers that constitute the SUPER MAJORITY of the state committee which votes and supports and provides cover for the failed chairwoman.  Historic Note: Carnevale is the chair who tried to get conservative writer and talk show host Jeff Kuhner thrown off the airwaves. She failed in that attempt, also.]