Hub Politics Covers Tonight’s Mass GOP Chairman Election

Tonight, Hub Politics will be on the scene at the Massachusetts Republican Party Chairman Election.

Over the past couple months we’ve interviewed most of the candidates, but tonight we’ll find out who will be chosen lead the party…

To check out our interviews with each candidate, click on their name below:

• William Barabino (dropped out)
• Stephanie Davis (dropped out)
• Joe Manzoli
• Bob Parks
• Peter Torkildsen
• Ron Vining (dropped out)

Hub Politics wishes good luck to all the candidates!

Hub Politics Interviews Stephanie Davis, Candidate for Mass GOP Chair

Hub Politics recently had the opportunity to interview Stephanie Davis, who is now running for chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party. The interview was conducted via email, and is part of Hub Politics’ coverage of the Mass GOP Chairman race.

HUB POLITICS: Why do you want to be chair of the Massachusetts Republican Party?

STEPHANIE DAVIS: I like to win, and feel that Republicans have a tremendous opportunity to capitalize on the fiscal and social policy “time-bombs” currently embedded in Massachusetts’ government structure. The so-called “health-care reform” bill is one example, as is the on-going expansion of Massachusetts government. I anticipate an implosion and want to play a part in it. It’s also a way, but not the only way, to fight for the type of government I believe in.

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The Search For The New Mass GOP Chairman

Seth Gitell, contributing editor of the New York Sun, writes about the prospects for the next chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party with some historical context that makes for quite an interesting read.

Two decades ago, the Republican Party in Massachusetts faced abject humiliation. One of its candidates for governor withdrew from the race after being caught exaggerating his Vietnam War record. Another imploded when news broke of his proclivity to occupy his office in the nude. A loyal Republican soldier, George Kariotis, stepped into the breach — only to be defeated by Michael Dukakis by almost 40 percentage points in the general election.

Mr. Dukakis used the force of that victory and the tale of the “Massachusetts Miracle” to propel himself to the Democratic nomination for president in 1988. Today, the state GOP confronts a situation that is almost as bad ‚Äî although not as embarrassing. The party failed to put up candidates for two statewide offices, secretary of state and treasurer, whereas the Green Party did. The Republican candidate for U.S. Senate lost by almost the same margin as Mr. Kariotis did in 1986. And the Republican candidate for governor, Kerry Healy [sic], fought ferociously, losing by 21 points to Deval Patrick.

With the gubernatorial defeat, the 16-year-long Republican experiment in Massachusetts, which began with the patrician William Weld in 1990 and extended through A. Paul Cellucci, Jane Swift, and the current governor, is now over. Now, amid the shambles of the present-day Republican Party, another Massachusetts governor is attempting to run for president. Only this time, his name is Mitt Romney. And he is a Republican.

For the Republican Party in Massachusetts, the defeat means a return to the political wilderness. The names of a number of prospective candidates are being raised to serve as the head of the state party. Those names include, according to the Boston Globe, Peter Torkildsen, one of two Republican congressmen who went down in defeat in 1996 leaving the delegation completely Democratic; John Racho of Ipswich, and William Barabino of Wakefield. Stephanie Davis, a financial services executive, is basing her candidacy on the need of the party to get back in touch with the grass roots, the 12.5% of the state’s electorate that identifies itself as Republican.

“I happened to have come of age during Ronald Reagan’s administration,” Ms. Davis says, lamenting the party’s fixation on holding on to the governor’s office at the expense of building up the party as a whole. “It’s like running a football. It’s not something you can do overnight, you have to do it over and over and over again.”

Read the whole article.