Amid an ongoing ideological rift within the Massachusetts Republican Party, the state is positioned to fall under single-party rule after the election on Nov. 8.
With polls suggesting that Democrats will win all statewide elections, former MassGOP Executive Director Gene Hartigan talks about the future of the party during NBC10 Boston's political podcast, "Countdown to Decision 2022."
"This whole notion of Massachusetts sort of becoming a one-party state is something we've talked about and, you know, I've talked about it with Gene for a couple of decades," political reporter Alison King said.
Approximately 30% of Massachusetts voters are registered as Democrats, compared to just 9% registered as Republicans. Nearly 60% of Massachusetts voters are unenrolled in either party, according to enrollment data from the Secretary of State's website. Within the Massachusetts Legislature, Republicans hold just three seats in the Senate and 27 in the House.
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"I'm not sure it's been much lower than that," King said.
Things will only get worse for the Republican Party in Massachusetts unless they abandon the Trump brand of politics and find some middle ground, according to Hartigan.
Politics
"The thing is, you have to understand who the voters are. And the voters of Massachusetts tend to be moderate — moderate and conservative in the independent range and moderate-liberal — and it depends on what part of the state you're in," Hartigan said. "But the issues that drive elections in any cycle — in any cycle, in any state — are pocketbook issues."
He said this year's Republican candidate for governor, Geoff Diehl, is a "nice guy" but didn't do himself any favors by aligning himself with former President Donald Trump.
"He took on a losing battle if he was going to take on Charlie Baker and then, when Baker was out, the problem is that he tied himself to Donald Trump. And that doesn't play well here. Not enough to win," Hartigan said.
In the governor's race, recent poll numbers show Maura Healey is holding on to her more than 20-point lead over Diehl. Healey had 56% and Diehl 33% in a poll conducted with 500 likely voters Oct. 13-16 by Suffolk University/Boston Globe/NBC10 Boston/Telemundo.
For more on this and other top political issues in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and beyond, listen to the latest episode of our election podcast, "Countdown to Decision 2022."
