GEORGETOWN, Mass. — With a little less than two weeks left until Republican State Committee members vote to decide on whether to retain Quincy's Kirsten Hughes as party chairman, one person was noticeably absent from Thursday night's candidate's forum: Hughes.
Sources close to Hughes said the event, sponsored by the Georgetown Republican Town Committee, was advertised without her input and that Hughes had previously scheduled family commitment that conflicted with the forum.
Over the past several months, even the past several cycles, various pundits have argued the divide in the Massachusetts Republican Party is about moderates vs. liberals, or more recently Trump vs. anti-Trump. While some folks might look at it that way, those who look deeper will see that the divide in the Republican state committee isn't really about these quarrels.
When we look back to the state committee races earlier this year, Governor Charlie Baker was heavily involved to "take control" of the Party. The end result was a closely divided Party, with the April National Committeewoman's race ending in a 37 to 41 vote. But what did it take to earn Governor Baker's endorsement in these elections? What did his candidates have in common?
