POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Healey's screen time boost

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Maura Healey’s first television ad of the general election begins with a medley of her greatest hits as attorney general and ends with her tried-and-tested pitch for governor.

“Maura Healey protected homeowners and consumers from predatory lenders. She stood up to ExxonMobil for lying about climate change and took on Purdue Pharma and the Sacklers for fueling the opioid epidemic,” a male narrator intones. “As governor, she will protect reproductive freedom, cut taxes, improve education and make Massachusetts more affordable.”

“Results” hits the airwaves today as part of the $4.5 million advertising campaign Healey has planned through the November election. While the narrator doesn’t mention Healey’s running mate, Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll, their joint campaign logo appears at the end of the 30-second spot.

Healey is going up with her second ad — she aired her first, “Teamwork,” during the primary — while her Republican rival, Geoff Diehl, has largely kept to radio. He also entered the general election lacking the kind of money needed to go up on television: Diehl started September with less than $17,000 in his bank account, compared to Healey’s more than $4.7 million.

Healey is limiting spending in the governor and lieutenant governor races to $6.9 million. She and Driscoll were required to set a spending cap for the race after Diehl opted into the state’s public campaign financing program, but then said he wouldn’t be taking the taxpayer funds. Democratic attorney general nominee Andrea Campbell set her spending limit at $3 million — more than $6 million less than what her former rival, Shannon Liss-Riordan, spent during the primary.

GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. It’s primary day again.

New Hampshire voters are heading to the polls to choose which Republicans will take on a trio of vulnerable Democrats seeking reelection to Congress while Rhode Island residents are weighing whether to send Democratic Gov. Dan McKee packing, among other contests to be decided today.

And Massachusetts money is fueling them all. Bay State donors have poured well more than $3 million into the Granite State’s federal races and given more than $1 million to top candidates in Rhode Island’s hotly contested Democratic primaries for governor and for its Second Congressional District.

Candidates with Massachusetts ties are, unsurprisingly, the ones getting the most Massachusetts money. Campaign finance records show former CVS executive Helena Buonanno Foulkes, who served on the Harvard University Board of Overseers, has taken in the most Massachusetts cash of the leading Democrats running for governor with $390,030 since January 2021. In RI-02, state Treasurer Seth Magaziner, the son of Ira Magaziner, leads his main rivals with $231,900 from Massachusetts donors, per FEC filings.

In New Hampshire, Gail Huff Brown, a former WCVB reporter and wife of former Bay State senator and U.S. ambassador Scott Brown, leads the way among major Republican congressional candidates with $513,395 in Massachusetts money — nearly three times what she’s raised from Granite Staters.

But the bulk of the money crossing our northern border is going to the Democrats. Massachusetts donors have given Sen. Maggie Hassan more than $2.1 million. Hassan is likely to face either GOP establishment-backed state Senate President Chuck Morse or retired Army Gen. Don Bolduc, who's backed former President Donald Trump's false claims about the 2020 election, in a November contest that could help decide control of her chamber. They’ve also given Democratic Reps. Chris Pappas and Annie Kuster $411,554 and $310,125, respectively.

TODAY — Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito is at UMass Dartmouth at noon and participates in a virtual Local Government Advisory Committee at 1 p.m. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is at the Boston Public Library’s Central Library at 11 a.m. and is on GBH’s “Boston Public Radio” at noon. Rep. Jake Auchincloss addresses the New England Council at 8:30 a.m. at the Hampshire House in Boston. Campbell is on GBH’s “Greater Boston” at 7 p.m.

Tips? Scoops? Email me: lkashinsky@politico.com.

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BIDEN TIME

— BIDEN’S BAY STATE SWING: Inflation is improving, gas prices are falling and fighting cancer can help unify a deeply divided nation.

Those were the messages President Joe Biden delivered to friendly audiences in Boston — and on TV screens across the region the day before primaries in New Hampshire and Rhode Island — as he returned to Massachusetts less than two months after giving a speech about climate change in Somerset.

Out of the public eye, his message was more dire: It’s going to be a “difficult two years” spent largely “with the veto pen” if Democrats lose control of Congress, Biden said at a Democratic National Committee reception hosted by Jonathan Lavine at an apartment overlooking the Boston Common.

That might be why, hours earlier in an under-construction terminal at Logan Airport, Biden looked at Gov. Charlie Baker and longed for the old days: “I hope it doesn’t hurt your reputation” to work with a Democratic president, Biden told the outgoing Republican governor. “When I got started, we all used to be like you and I — actually get along, cared for each other, treat each other decently. We may disagree, but … we got to return to that kind of politics.” Baker, who minutes earlier had taken the stage to laud the bipartisanship that led to the infrastructure funding Biden was promoting, seemed to agree.

President Joe Biden during remarks in Boston today. | Evan Vucci/Associated Press

Biden followed that up by praising the state’s all-Democratic federal delegation as “the most powerful and most talented” in the country. No word yet on which other states disagree with that assessment. Here’s more from Biden’s visit:

— “President Joe Biden, Gov. Charlie Baker celebrate federal funding jolt at Boston Logan International Airport,” by Alison Kuznitz, MassLive: “Embarrassed by the dearth of top-ranked airports in the U.S. compared to global competitors, President Joe Biden returned to Massachusetts Monday and was joined by an entourage of politicians at Boston Logan International Airport who all lauded an infusion of millions of dollars in federal aid to galvanize sorely needed upgrades at Terminal E, a gateway for international travelers. A $50 million investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will modernize the terminal, tamping down on crowded gates, elongated taxi times and delayed commerce — all while creating union jobs and ‘building a better America,’ Biden said. There’s another $12 million allocated for surrounding roadwork.”

— “Channeling JFK in Boston visit, Biden breathes new life into cancer ‘moonshot’,” by Jessica Bartlett, Boston Globe: “On the 60th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s moonshot speech, President Biden came to the Kennedy Library in Boston to supercharge his campaign to cut cancer deaths in half over the next 25 years. The event on Monday renewed efforts initially spearheaded by Biden in 2016 when he was vice president, and restarted in February 2022. Standing in a room of patients, medical experts, and politicians, he said that the long-term goal would be to cure cancers once and for all.”

President Joe Biden speaks on the cancer moonshot initiative at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, Monday, Sept. 12, 2022, in Boston. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) | AP

— “Biden appoints former government scientist as first leader of ARPA-H,” by Sarah Owermohle, STAT: “President Joe Biden on Monday appointed longtime biologist and former government scientist Renee Wegrzyn as the first director of the nascent Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. Biden’s announcement comes as ARPA-H advocates debate where the multibillion-dollar agency should be headquartered and which elusive disease areas should be prioritized. … Wegrzyn, 45, currently works at Boston-based Ginkgo Bioworks, a company focused on biological engineering, but has prior experience in two government agencies Biden has said he hopes to emulate with ARPA-H — the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity.”

Attorney General Maura Healey, the Democratic nominee for governor, spoke with Biden to "support his cancer moonshot and champion Massachusetts’ role in life sciences and research," according to a spokesperson for her official office, though she was not in the crowd for his speech.

VAX-ACHUSETTS

— “Boston Children’s Hospital researchers find antibody that neutralizes all major coronavirus variants in tests on mice,” by Martin Finucane, Boston Globe: “An antibody developed by Boston Children’s Hospital researchers has been shown to neutralize all major SARS-CoV-2 variants, including all Omicron strains, which could lead to a new treatment, the hospital said.”

FROM THE HUB

— “Mayor Wu notches notable misses in Mass. primary endorsements. Will it hurt her?” by Danny McDonald and Samantha J. Gross, Boston Globe: “Mayor Michelle Wu spent a portion of her progressive political capital backing candidates who lost in Tuesday’s primary, leaving Boston’s top pol with a less-than-stellar power-brokering record and raising questions about whether she’s done any damage to her own prospects.”

— “Seaport booming: Boston City Council has just two months to work out redistricting,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “The City Council has less than two months to figure out its new district maps — namely, how to account for massive population growth in the Seaport while keeping the maps fair. A turbulent series of events has led City Councilor Liz Breadon to chair the committee, and she has filed a set of guidelines for the process and requested an assortment of demographic details this week as she says she is working to schedule community sessions and council working sessions to get the ball rolling.”

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PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

— “Here’s what’s going to happen to a bunch of old Orange Line trains,” by Spencer Buell, Boston Globe: “In a few weeks, a batch of retired Orange Line trains will be carted off on flatbed trucks to the Costello Dismantling Co. scrapyard, according to MBTA officials, leaving only the memories of their fake wood paneling and uniquely patterned cloth seats behind. In all, 120 train cars are destined for the scrapyard, and will be destroyed in four phases of 30 trains at a time. Each phase will cost just over $1 million, officials said.”

YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS

— “AG candidate Campbell will not commit to debating GOP rival,” by Zoe Mathews, GBH News: “Andrea Campbell, the Democratic nominee for attorney general, would not commit to holding debates with her Republican opponent in an interview Monday. When asked on Boston Public Radio if she would debate Republican nominee Jay McMahon in an event by GBH, she replied, ‘We'll see.’"

— DONOR UPDATE: Yesterday’s edition of Massachusetts Playbook included an item about an ad from the coalition opposing the Fair Share Amendment. The group mistakenly listed Paul Edgerley as a top donor in its ad and has since updated the ad to include Phill Gross instead.

MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS

— “MetroWest saw a sharp decline in teen marijuana use during the pandemic. Will it last?” by Abby Patkin, MetroWest Daily News: “As the availability of recreational marijuana has gone up in MetroWest with the arrival of new dispensaries, use of the drug among teens in the region has fallen dramatically, according to data from the MetroWest Health Foundation. As of last fall, only 21% of MetroWest high school students had ever used marijuana, down from 31% just three years prior, according to the foundation’s MetroWest Adolescent Health Survey.”

ROE FALLOUT

— “Crisis pregnancy centers are on the defensive but they’re pushing back,” by Stephanie Ebbert, Boston Globe: “A newly formed coalition of faith-based crisis pregnancy centers, backed by the Massachusetts Family Institute, warned the attorney general Monday that any sanctions taken against them would be unconstitutional. In a letter from the Family Institute and First Liberty Institute, a nonprofit law firm dedicated to defending religious liberty, the centers urged [Maura] Healey to lift the consumer advisory against them. And they demanded that she begin to defend them against the public attacks they’re facing in a political landscape upended by the overturn of Roe v. Wade.”

FROM THE 413

— “PETA sues UMass over monkey lab records, continuing years-long fight over experiments school says are humane,” by Will Katcher, MassLive: “A lawsuit filed Monday by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals aims to compel the University of Massachusetts Amherst to release videos and other records of experiments conducted on marmosets by university researchers."

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “Provincetown hooked up to large electricity battery,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: “One of the largest electric batteries in the nation is starting to provide backup power for Provincetown and will soon do the same for Truro and part of Wellfleet. The $49 million battery, located on a few acres at the Provincetown transfer station, is designed to seamlessly integrate with the power grid in the area, called a microgrid. Whenever power goes down in a section of the grid, the battery will release its backup electricity to plug the gap.”

— “Antisemitic banner with Sept. 11 conspiracy theory displayed above Route 1 in Saugus,” by Will Katcher, MassLive: “A small group of individuals hung a banner bearing an antisemitic conspiracy theory above Route 1 in Saugus on Sunday, the 21st anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.”

MEANWHILE IN RHODE ISLAND

— "A day before R.I. primary, two former top health officials send anti-McKee messages," by Edward Fitzpatrick, Boston Globe: "On the eve of Tuesday’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, two former top state Department of Health officials are weighing in with clear votes of no confidence in Governor Daniel J. McKee."

MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

— "In New Hampshire, an Intraparty G.O.P. Fight for the Senate Intensifies," by Trip Gabriel and Michael C. Bender, New York Times: "An intramural Republican fight over New Hampshire’s nominee for the Senate entered its final day on Monday with Gov. Chris Sununu and national Republicans working furiously to try to block a Trump-style 2020 election denier, Don Bolduc, whom they perceive as too extreme to win in November. As former President Donald J. Trump remained on the sidelines — despite private appeals from a more mainstream Republican, Chuck Morse, the president of the State Senate, for Mr. Trump to throw him his support — Mr. Bolduc appeared in strong position to get on the ballot against Senator Maggie Hassan, one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the evenly divided chamber."

— "'Bitcoiner' Bruce Fenton Mines Senate Race for Support in Granite State," by Stephanie Murray, The Block.

MEDIA MATTERS

— “Former CNN host Brian Stelter lands Harvard media fellowship,” by Bailey Allen, Boston Globe.

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

SPOTTED at President Joe Biden's Boston speeches — Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, Gov. Charlie Baker, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey; Assistant House Speaker Katherine Clark, Reps. Ayanna Pressley, Lori Trahan, Jake Auchincloss, Seth Moulton, Stephen Lynch and Bill Keating; state Senate President Karen Spilka, state Sens. Lydia Edwards and Brendan Crighton; state Reps. Adrian Madaro and Bill Driscoll Jr.; Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Boston City Councilors Gigi Coletta and Kenzie Bok; U.S. Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy, Jack Schlossberg, Will Rasky, Sam Hyun, Joe Caiazzo and talk show host David Letterman (h/t Amanda Sabga).

David Letterman and other guests listen as President Joe Biden speaks on the cancer moonshot initiative at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, Monday, Sept. 12, 2022, in Boston. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) | AP

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