The perfect Donald Trump storm is brewing in Massachusetts — an unabashed conservative taking on the Democratic power structure, a liberal candidate and the left-wing media.
So it’s no surprise Trump is considering making an appearance for gubernatorial candidate Geoff Diehl’s campaign.
A Trump rally would take the Bay State gubernatorial race national — which is just what Diehl wants — and shine a spotlight on the former state rep and failed U.S. Senate candidate.
It would also bring in cash, notoriety and of course plenty of criticism in the establishment media and in the Democratic party.
Democratic front-runner Attorney General Maura Healey is the perfect Trump foil — she has sued the former president dozens of times and at times seemed obsessed by him.
Healey has tried to hang the Trump label on Diehl and he seems perfectly willing to embrace it.
Trump and Diehl would also be running against the state Democratic Party establishment, including the super-liberal Legislature, which has resisted passing tax cuts despite a huge state surplus and just passed a bill allowing non-citizen immigrants to get a drivers’ license.
No doubt the former president would also enjoy coming into the home state of his Republican nemesis, Gov. Charlie Baker. Trump has made it a point to slam Baker whenever he can.
This scenario of course depends on Diehl actually winning the primary against moderate underdog Chris Doughty. Diehl will be the heavy favorite — he just won a vote of Republican party delegates by a 70-30 point margin.
The question for Diehl is can he stitch together enough of a coalition of staunch conservatives, veterans, law enforcement, anti-vaxers and others to win the primary and make it a contest against Healey or the other Democrat, Sonia Chang-Diaz?
Trump may be able to help fire up conservatives — more than a million of them voted for him in 2020 in Massachusetts — but he’ll also energize Democrats, too.
Whether the former president makes an actual visit to the Bay State is in question — he’s promised to do “something” for Diehl but he may not want to invest too much time in a race he’s likely to lose.
Trump would no doubt relish coming into the home state of his frequent verbal sparring partner, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren.