ON TO NOVEMBER — Sniping in statements and a back and forth over debates — the general election for Senate is officially underway in Massachusetts. Attorney and Marine veteran John Deaton sailed to an early victory last night, handily defeating Bob Antonellis and Quincy City Council President Ian Cain in a win for the wing of the state’s Republican party fighting to put forward candidates that can draw the necessary support from Massachusetts’ independent majority they need to win a statewide contest. Now comes the hard part: taking on Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who crushed her most recent Republican opponent, Geoff Diehl, in 2018. Democrats don’t seem to be taking the race for granted. Warren’s team threw down the debate gauntlet moments after the race was called, challenging Deaton to two televised debates in October. Deaton shot back during his victory speech that he wants five “single-issue” debates against the incumbent. In a statement alongside the challenge, Warren’s campaign manager Janice Rottenberg blasted Deaton’s support from crypto executives who poured a couple million dollars into a PAC to boost his primary bid. And in a press release reviewed by Playbook they’re sending out this morning, the Massachusetts Democratic Party is knocking Deaton for his crypto ties and over his recent residency change (he moved from Rhode Island to Massachusetts in January to take on Warren). Deaton’s “billionaire crypto friends are trying to buy this Senate seat and win Republican control of the Senate to protect their pocketbooks,” Massachusetts Democratic Party Chair Steve Kerrigan said in a statement this morning. “Senator Warren has a long history of standing up for ordinary Americans and winning big fights, and Bay Staters know whose side she is on. They also know a scam when they see it. John Deaton might have better luck back home in Rhode Island.” The early attacks over the crypto cash that flowed into the primary underscore one point Deaton’s repeated on the campaign trail: while he has connections to cryptocurrency, Warren, he says, is the “crypto candidate” for turning the conversation in that direction (though Deaton hasn’t been shy in touting support from high-profile people intertwined in the industry). Beating Warren — whose standing in her party was recently highlighted by the minutes-long standing ovation she received at the Democratic National Convention last month that left her visibly emotional — during a presidential election year with a Democratic majority in the Senate on the line is a longshot. But it’s worth keeping an eye on the three major crypto-backed PACs that are playing in some tight races. If they do play in this contest, it could give Deaton, whose own campaign cash pales in comparison to Warren’s war chest, a significant boost. GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Even with little competition, last night held some surprises. The biggest apparent upset came in Cambridge, where progressive challenger Evan MacKay declared victory last night over Democratic state Rep. Marjorie Decker in a race that came to be viewed as sort of a referendum on the Legislature’s lack of transparency and recent inaction. As of this morning, Associated Press results put Decker behind by a handful of votes, though the race hasn’t been officially called. MacKay, a graduate student at Harvard, claimed victory over Decker after campaigning on the Legislature’s shortcomings, including the recent chaotic end to formal sessions –- something Decker, even as co-chair of the Public Health Committee, had minimal control over in negotiations that were controlled by top Legislative leaders. Decker wasn’t the only incumbent surprised by a challenger last night. Republican state Rep. Susan Williams Gifford lost her primary to John Gaskey, a veteran who ran to the right of the incumbent with support from former MassGOP Chair Jim Lyons. In Boston’s proxy-battle, the Wu train rolled to its latest victory. Allison Cartwright, a political newcomer, declared victory over Boston City Councilor Erin Murphy in the race for Supreme Judicial Court clerk in Suffolk County. It’s a warning shot for would-be and the increasingly-likely-to-be challengers for Wu in 2025. The mayor’s operation (with a big boost from other prominent politicians in the city) took a candidate with no campaign cash and no name recognition and swept her to victory against an opponent who entered the race with both. Not to be ignored: the behind-the-scenes influence from state Sen. Lydia Edwards, increasingly one of the city’s most influential power players, who got Cartwright’s campaign up and running. TODAY — Vice President Kamala Harris campaigns in New Hampshire. Gov. Maura Healey has no public events. Lt. Kim Driscoll chairs a Governor’s Council meeting at noon at the State House. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Superintendent Mary Skipper knock doors to encourage students with a history of chronic absenteeism to return to school at noon in Roxbury. Rep. Jake Auchincloss hosts a press conference on his new bipartisan transit benefits bill at 12:30 p.m. in Brookline.
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