| | | | |  | | By Lisa Kashinsky | SCOOP: DEPARTURE LOUNGE — Quentin Palfrey is planning to end his campaign for attorney general as soon as today, according to three people familiar with his thinking. Chatter about Palfrey potentially exiting the Democratic primary and endorsing one of his competitors has grown in recent days as new polls showed the former assistant attorney struggling to keep pace with Andrea Campbell and Shannon Liss-Riordan, and with key endorsements breaking for his rivals. He also cut $140,000 of his $231,000 in pre-primary ad buys, according to ad tracker AdImpact. Palfrey did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Palfrey began telegraphing his attorney general campaign over a year ago, when the 2018 Democratic lieutenant governor nominee told the Boston Globe he would run for the state's top law enforcement job if Attorney General Maura Healey ran for governor. He racked up endorsements from Democratic Party activists and progressive groups after formally launching his campaign in February and went on to secure the state party's endorsement at its June convention. But Palfrey has struggled to grow his campaign beyond party insiders. He's been outpaced in fundraising by Campbell and trounced by Liss-Riordan, who's now poured at least $4.8 million of her own money into her campaign. And he's trailed in polling while Liss-Riordan is closing the gap with Campbell after blanketing the airwaves since early July. The path to victory got even narrower this past weekend, when Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and former Boston Acting Mayor Kim Janey endorsed Liss-Riordan. Their late-breaking support effectively recast the primary as a two-woman race between the Brookline labor attorney and Campbell, the former Boston city councilor who's backed by Healey, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Sen. Ed Markey and other prominent politicians. Palfrey may endorse one of his rivals to blunt the other's rise. Most political watchers would assume Palfrey would endorse Liss-Riordan, who he often teamed up with earlier in the campaign to attack Campbell over super PAC spending and certain policy stances. But there's a chance Palfrey, off-put by the millions of dollars Liss-Riordan has given her campaign to fuel her more than $5 million in advertising, could set aside his differences with Campbell and back her instead. GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Primary day is a week away! What races are you watching? What mailers are you getting? Share your thoughts: lkashinsky@politico.com. TODAY — Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito attend the Greylock Glen ceremonial groundbreaking at 10 a.m. in Adams, announce Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grant awards at noon in Williamsburg and visit Valley Venture Mentors at 2 p.m. in Springfield. The GOP governor/LG team of Geoff Diehl and Leah Cole Allen hold a media availability at 1 p.m. at UMass Lowell. LG hopeful and state Rep. Tami Gouveia casts her ballot at 6 p.m. at Acton Town Hall.
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | |  | DATELINE BEACON HILL | | — "Many Dems will breeze through election amid shortage of GOP challengers," by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: "Dozens of democratic lawmakers are getting a free pass to another two-year term with the Republican Party fielding few challengers in the upcoming elections. Every seat in the 200-member state Legislature is up for grabs in the fall elections, but the majority of incumbents will cruise to another term with few contenders vying to unseat them. … Among 18 House races in the North of Boston region, only two Republicans were nominated to run against incumbent Democratic lawmakers. In three wide-open races to fill House seats — the newly created 4th Essex in the Merrimack Valley, and 7th and 8th Essex Districts on the North Shore — Democrats dominate the field of candidates. There are no Republicans aiming for the seats."
| | FROM THE HUB | | — ENDORSEMENT ALERT: State Rep. Chynah Tyler is endorsing Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden at 1:30 p.m. at the Malcolm X mural in Roxbury. — "'It sounds like I don't want to vote for either of them': Controversy defines Suffolk DA's race," by Danny McDonald and Tiana Woodard, Boston Globe: "With little more than a week to go before primary day, voters find themselves contemplating two Suffolk district attorney candidates buffeted by controversy. That's left many local residents changing their minds about the race; still others greeted the whole firestorm with indifference. Revelations that Boston City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo, a former public defender, was twice investigated — though never charged — for possible sexual assault as a teenager have rocked city politics. Meanwhile, District Attorney Kevin Hayden continues to face questions and criticism after a Boston Globe investigation exposed a coverup by Transit Police officers that raised questions about how prosecutors handled the case." — "Chaos on Boston City Council: Flynn moves to strip Arroyo's leadership assignments; Baker and Lara file dueling records requests," by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: "The Boston City Council is tearing itself apart as President Ed Flynn moves to strip embattled councilor Ricardo Arroyo's committee leadership assignments — a move Arroyo slams as 'undemocratic' — and city councilors pursue each other with pointed records requests: Frank Baker against the DA candidate Arroyo and Kendra Lara in turn against Baker."
| | YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS | | — FROM THE OPINION PAGES: A year after endorsing Andrea Campbell for Boston mayor, the Boston Globe editorial board has endorsed the former city councilor for state attorney general. — FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: The Boston Teachers Union, which represents about 10,000 educators, and the Greater Boston Labor Council, which represents about 100,000 workers, have endorsed state Sen. Diana DiZoglio for auditor, adding to her broad union support. — Teamsters Local 25 has endorsed Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll for lieutenant governor. — Sen. Ed Markey has endorsed Sydney Levin-Epstein for Hampden, Hampshire and Worcester state senator, saying in a statement that she'll "fight to make sure the region gets its fair share of resources" and to "create good jobs." — State Treasurer Deb Goldberg has endorsed Worcester Mayor Joe Petty for First Worcester state senator, saying in a statement that Petty is a "consensus builder" who will "bring that same work ethic" to the State House. — State Rep. Russell Holmes has been endorsed for reelection in the 6th Suffolk District by 1199 SEIU, SEIU Local 509, the Massachusetts AFL-CIO and the Massachusetts & Northern New England Laborers' District Council.
| | THE DOWN-BALLOT RACES | | — "A right-wing agitator who attended Jan. 6 riot is running for the Mass. House, testing state GOP's appetite for extremism," by Emma Platoff, Boston Globe: "A little-watched legislative contest on the northeast coast of Massachusetts could be a bellwether for the bitterly divided state GOP, as party leaders consider throwing their support behind Samson Racioppi, a right-wing agitator who led a 2019 'Straight Pride Parade' in Boston and organized buses to Washington, D.C., for the protest that became the Jan. 6 insurrection." — "Massachusetts district attorney races and the progressive prosecutor," by Deborah Becker, WBUR: "San Francisco residents recalled progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin after he was blamed for a rash of brazen thefts across the city. Pennsylvania Republicans are trying to impeach the liberal DA in Philadelphia. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis removed a progressive prosecutor in his state this month. And Suffolk DA Rachael Rollins faced a bitter confirmation fight before she became U.S. Attorney in Massachusetts early this year. Now the conflict has shifted to Massachusetts, where the battle is playing out very differently from one county to the next." — "Coppinger touts reforms as he seeks another term," by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: "When former Lynn Police Chief Kevin Coppinger took over as Essex County's sheriff nearly six years ago, he never expected to play the role of a reformer. But a few years after taking over the helm, the veteran law enforcement officer found himself at the center of a national debate over whether to allow medication assisted treatment in jails and correctional facilities to help blunt the impact of a wave of opioid addiction that had claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. … In the Sept. 6 primary Coppinger faces a challenge from Virginia Leigh, a Lynn social worker who argues he hasn't done enough to improve access to substance-abuse treatment and mental health services for inmates." — More: "Leigh vows close 'revolving door' at Middleton jail," by Christian M. Wade, Salem News: "As a clinical social worker, Virginia Leigh has spent years working with individuals struggling with mental health and substance abuse issues whose lives often become tangled up in the state's complex criminal justice system. Her work has taken her into county jails and state prisons and convinced her that the best way to reduce crime and the number of people serving time is to deal with the root causes of incarceration."
| | | | INTRODUCING POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don't miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY. | | | | | | | YOU'VE GOT MAIL | | — "Have a mail ballot sitting at home? 'Do not trust it to the mail at this point,' top Mass. elections official says," by Samantha J. Gross, Boston Globe: "Have a mail-in ballot sitting on your kitchen table or tacked up on your refrigerator? Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin advises that you fill it out and take it to a secure drop box, early voting site, or your local city or town hall before 8 p.m. on Sept. 6 if you want it to be counted for the state primary election."
| | FROM THE 413 | | — "Report finds regionalization may only be 'partial solution' to challenges posed by low enrollment, less rural school aid," by Chris Larabee, Daily Hampshire Gazette: "In Franklin and Hampshire counties, regional school districts including Pioneer, Mohawk Trail and Gateway already draw from a wide pool of towns across a large geographic range. If those schools were to join up with their neighbors, school officials and state Rep. Natalie Blais, D-Sunderland, who co-chaired the Special Commission on Rural School Districts, say serious consideration needs to be taken into whether the pros of regionalization outweigh the cons."
| | THE LOCAL ANGLE | | — "Grid operator, utilities call for energy reserve," by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: "The operator of the New England power grid and six of the region's major utilities are calling on state and federal policymakers to develop an 'energy reserve' that can be tapped when energy supply chains are disrupted." — "Worcester to begin construction on micro-units for chronically homeless," by Sam Turken, GBH News: "Amid a rise in homelessness across Worcester, the city's housing authority will start constructing what officials called the first-in-the-state building of micro-units to house people who have been chronically homeless."
| | MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE | | — "New Hampshire governor denounces tweets by state Libertarian party as 'horribly insulting'," by Emily Sweeney, Boston Globe: "The Libertarian Party of New Hampshire has drawn outrage for mocking the Holocaust and the death of Senator John McCain on social media, with New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu calling the Twitter posts 'horribly insulting.' In a recent interview on CNN, Sununu said 'that should pretty much be the end of the Libertarian Party in New Hampshire.'"
| | HEARD 'ROUND THE BUBBLAH | | WEEKEND WEDDING — Megan Corrigan, an Eric Lesser and Lydia Edwards campaign alum, and Kevin Lownds, deputy chief of the Medicaid Fraud Division at the attorney general's office, were married on Friday at the Gardens at Elm Bank in Wellesley. Garrett Casey, policy director and counsel for state Sen. Cynthia Creem, and Nelson Tamayo, a foreign service officer at the State Department, officiated. SPOTTED: Edwards, former state transportation secretary Fred Salvucci, John Sasso, Nick Mitropoulos, Dewey Square COO John Giesser, former U.S. Ambassador to Portugal Gerry McGowan; Will Poff Webster, Matt Shapanka, Elizabeth Keyes, former Rhode Island state Rep. Aaron Regunberg, Tim Flaherty and Mary-Jo Adams. HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to the Washington Post's Martine Powers, a Boston Globe/POLITICO alum, and Julia Hoffman. Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you're promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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