Geoff Diehl is talking about the “elephants in the room” when it comes to his candidacy for governor: Former President Donald Trump and Gov. Charlie Baker.
“We think we are right there with the amount of voters that would support me,” Diehl said during an appearance on WCVB’s “On the Record” on Sunday where he branded himself as a conservative counterweight to the more moderate Baker.
Hosts Janet Wu and Ed Harding pushed Diehl on his support for Trump — which Diehl didn’t rule out should the former president make another bid for the White House in 2024 — as the former state representative criticized the governor, in particular on a boost to pandemic unemployment benefits.
“Charlie’s allowed the unemployment insurance to have that enhancement and I think we need to get rid of that so people are incentivized to get back to the workplace,” Diehl said.
Diehl, who unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate opposite Elizabeth Warren in 2018, also differentiated himself from Baker on issues including the Transportation Climate Initiative and the pandemic response.
Baker has not yet announced his 2022 plans, though he’s promised voters a decision “soon.”
Diehl, however, said he’ll be gunning for the corner office regardless of whether the Republican governor runs for re-election.
“It’s hard to read the mind of Charlie Baker — for sure, especially coming from a Republican perspective, but whether he’s in or out, I’m looking forward to having that debate with him.
“If not with him, then with Karyn Polito, if she’s running,” Diehl said.
Polito’s sizeable campaign finance account has made her a rumored gubernatorial contender.
Polito has $2.2 million in the bank, second only to Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey who is also widely rumored to be considering a run for governor, campaign finance records show. Baker had just $524,467 as of June.
Diehl also threw his support behind Mass GOP Chair Jim Lyons, who faced calls for his resignation two weeks ago by more than a dozen deep-pocketed donors and high-profile party members. The party, Diehl said, is in a period of “soul searching.”
Touching on national Republican politics, Diehl said he’s “all for” an investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, but declined to place the blame on Trump.
“I don’t think that he was necessarily responsible for it,” Diehl said. “I think that there’s been plenty of political leaders that say come to Washington and express your political views during marches.”