| | | | |  | | By Kelly Garrity and Lisa Kashinsky | | Presented by |  | | | RETURN TO CAMELOT — Just over a year after he launched his quixotic quest for the White House, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was back at the glitzy Boston hotel where it all began to collect some cash to keep his now-independent campaign going. “Bobby” — as his supporters affectionately call him — settled into a chair across the Park Plaza stage from two of his most famous boosters, Donnie Wahlberg and Jenny McCarthy, for a wide-ranging "fireside chat." Behind him, a black-and-white mural showed pictures of Kennedy at all stages of life, including one of him as a young boy sitting on his father’s shoulders — a not-so-subtle reminder of the political dynasty he was born into that’s largely forsaken him in his longshot bid for the White House. The ballroom was packed with die-hard fans who clapped and called out as Kennedy railed against pharmaceutical companies and the alleged censorship of certain doctors during the pandemic. There were also a lot of Wahlbergs — not quite “half the audience,” as Kennedy quipped, but enough to fill a sizable section of chairs toward the front of the room. Missing: their most famous brother. Also missing: any prominent Massachusetts politician. The scion of one of the state’s other uber-famous families returned to Massachusetts on Monday in a far different position than when he launched what was then a Democratic primary challenge to President Joe Biden 12 months ago. Kennedy is now a thorn in the side of both major parties’ presumptive nominees as an independent candidate who polls show could siphon votes from the Republican and Democratic standard-bearers come November. But as both Donald Trump and the Democratic National Committee lash out at him, Kennedy played it cool on Monday. He called Trump “well-intentioned” but ribbed him for padding his administration with the very “swamp creatures” that he had pledged to drain from Washington. Wahlberg even posited that more attention — negative though it may be — could be good for Kennedy as he attempts to insert himself into the mainstream political conversation. Several of Kennedy’s supporters said the same, even though surveys show his ability to trade in on his family’s last name and his anti-vaccine and anti-government-corruption advocacy appears to be limited.
|  Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is fundraising in Massachusetts — and handing out hats. | Kelly Garrity/POLITICO | Outside the ballroom, Kennedy’s campaign handed out green-and-white baseball caps emblazoned with the words “KENNEDY FOR PRESIDENT” and, in another nod to his heritage, a tiny golden shamrock. Staffers also hustled to collect signatures from the registered Massachusetts voters in the crowd to help secure his spot on the November ballot. They were few and far between, according to one volunteer who described Bay State voters as “in the minority” on Monday compared to the out-of-towners who had traveled from Maine, New Jersey and even Florida to attend the event. That’s consistent with a recent MassINC/CommonWealth Beacon/GBH News poll that found Kennedy drawing less than 10 percent of support from Massachusetts voters. But they weren’t nonexistent. Kennedy’s support among the Massachusetts set spanned from a lifelong Democrat who voted for Joe Biden in 2020 to a Rockport couple who described themselves as conservative and said they voted for Trump, to a Duxbury woman who said she was ineligible to vote in the last presidential election but is “100 percent” voting for Kennedy in November. GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Today's the deadline for district and county candidates to turn in their nomination papers to local election offices. Not running again? Let us know: kgarrity@politico.com and lkashinsky@politico.com TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey addresses the New England Council at 8:30 a.m. at the Boston Harbor Hotel and attends the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Partnership’s “Following In Her Footsteps” awards at 6 p.m. at the Coolidge Corner Theatre; former Lt. Gov. Evelyn Murphy and Colette Phillips are honorees. Rep. Seth Moulton is on WBUR’s “Radio Boston” at 11 a.m.
| | | | THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists.
Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY. | | | | | |  | YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS | | CASH DASH — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. isn’t the only presidential candidate looking to dip into the deep pockets of Massachusetts donors for campaign cash. President Joe Biden will return to the Bay State for a trio of fundraisers on May 21, one of which is being headlined by Gov. Maura Healey, Puck News’ Teddy Schleifer reports. Event-planner extraordinaire Bryan Rafanelli and his husband, Mark Walsh, and Jack and Eileen Connors will host another event. Mark and Audrey Schuster, George and Lizbeth Krupp, Douglas and Judith Krupp, and James and Stephanie Sokolove will host the third, according to the invitations.
| | DATELINE BEACON HILL | | — “Cape lawmaker repeatedly lied to state regulators investigating his 2022 election,” by Gintautas Dumcius, CommonWealth Beacon: “The Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF) was trying to get to the bottom of a complaint they received about a mailer from the 2022 election, when [state Rep. Chris] Flanagan had flipped the seat into the Democratic column after facing Republican Tracy Post and a third party candidate. The mailer, purportedly from ‘Conservatives for Dennis’ and sent out to the Barnstable County town, urged recipients to ‘vote the person, not the party,’ and said Flanagan, who served on the town’s select board, stood for ‘honesty’ and ‘integrity.’ The OCPF investigation concluded that he stood for anything but.” — “Mass. climate bank rolls out first loan program to help homeowners,” by Greg Ryan, Boston Business Journal: “The new initiative offers loans of up to $100,000 for projects such as installing heat pumps and rooftop solar panels, replacing a roof or getting rid of an oil tank.”
| | | MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS | | | — “Migrant families, homeless will be housed at National Guard armory in Lexington,” by Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald: “The state’s filled-to-bursting Emergency Shelter system is expanding its presence into Lexington, where migrants and other homeless families will be temporarily housed at the local Massachusetts National Guard armory, the Herald has learned. The Lexington Armory building … will be used to house up to 55 migrant families while the state looks for other more permanent places to keep them.”
| | FROM THE HUB | | — “State ends housing programs for those in 'Mass. and Cass' encampment,” by Deborah Becker, WBUR: “With federal COVID funding running out, Massachusetts health officials are closing two housing programs designed to shelter those who were living in a large tent encampment removed by Boston officials late last year. The programs had seemed to help reduce the numbers of people living on the streets while facing mental health and substance use disorders, and address problems such as increasing violence in the encampment." — “Boston city councilor edits out Israeli ‘genocide’ accusations in toned down cease-fire resolution,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “A Boston city councilor plans to ask her colleagues to declare support for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas War in a measure edited to tone down incendiary language that stated Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. … It represents the Boston City Council’s third attempt, and the second by [Councilor Tania] Fernandes Anderson — a Muslim who supports the Palestinian movement — to declare local support for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas War, which both sides are negotiating.”
| | ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | | — “Massachusetts colleges pressure pro-Palestinian protesters to dismantle encampments before graduation,” by Christina Hager, WBZ. — “First student arraigned in Boston area pro-Palestine student protests receives community service,” by Tori Bedford, GBH News: “A Boston Municipal Court judge dismissed a request for charges Monday against a 23-year-old Northeastern University student involved in pro-Palestine protests, the first of more than 200 protesters from local colleges facing court hearings over the next two weeks.” — “Pro-Palestinian Columbia students occupy academic building,” by Irier Sentner, POLITICO: “Pro-Palestinian student protesters at Columbia University early Tuesday entered the same campus building that students advocating for racial justice occupied in the 1960s, a significant escalation at the elite institution that launched dozens of campus demonstrations across the world.”
| | DAY IN COURT | | — “Rockport residents file lawsuit, allege plan to comply with MBTA zoning law is unconstitutional,” by Travis Andersen, The Boston Globe: “The civil complaint, filed in US District Court in Boston, claims the zoning plan, which would allow multifamily housing in a designated part of town, will have an adverse impact on housing values in that area.” — “ACLU-Mass. calls on feds to not infringe on free students’ speech rights,” by Ryan Mancini, MassLive: “As the U.S. Department of Education looks into Title VI complaints in the wake of mass protests on college campuses over the war in Gaza, the ACLU of Massachusetts has asked the department to not let the ‘investigations and enforcement actions ... chill or encroach on the exercise of free expression by students or other members of educational communities.’” — “On first day of testimony in murder trial, officer says Karen Read said ‘this is all my fault.’ Here’s a recap,” by The Boston Globe Staff.
| | FROM THE DELEGATION | | — “US Lawmakers press Biden administration on use of crypto to evade sanctions,” by Hannah Lang, Reuters: “[Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Roger Marshall] are pressing the Biden administration on the use of cryptocurrency to evade sanctions in Russia, Iran and North Korea, asking officials what additional authorities might be needed to prevent digital assets, such as stablecoin Tether from being used by sanctioned entities in Russia and elsewhere.” — “Lawmakers seek more money for internet discounts,” by Christian M. Wade, The Eagle-Tribune: “With federal money drying up for a pandemic-related program that provides discounts on internet service for low-income families, the state’s two U.S. senators are asking industry groups to cover the shortfall.” — “Auchincloss seeks answers after Mass. colleges earn poor grades on antisemitism,” by Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald: “In a report released earlier this month, the ADL awarded just two of the ten Bay State universities that they examined with a grade of B or better regarding their response to a nationwide uptick in antisemitism. U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss, in a draft letter addressed to those eight poorly-performing universities and shared exclusively with the Herald, says he wants to know what those schools are doing to match antisemitism efforts seen at Brandeis University and Amherst College, the only commonwealth colleges to receive a better than average grade.”
| | | | DON’T MISS POLITICO’S ENERGY SUMMIT: The future of energy faces a crossroads in 2024 as policymakers and industry leaders shape new rules, investments and technologies. Join POLITICO’s Energy Summit on June 5 as we convene top voices to examine the shifting global policy environment in a year of major elections in the U.S. and around the world. POLITICO will examine how governments are writing and rewriting new rules for the energy future and America’s own role as a major exporter. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | FROM THE 413 | | — “Teacher whose classroom was searched by police for 'Gender Queer' will sue Great Barrington and schools if they refuse mediation,” by Heather Bellow, The Berkshire Eagle: “The English teacher who was questioned by police searching her eighth grade classroom for a controversial book says she will file a civil rights lawsuit if the town and school district do not agree to participate in mediation. The potential for litigation has prompted the town and the Berkshire Hills Regional School District to each schedule closed-door sessions with their attorneys Monday night.” — “State fines Southampton’s ex-water chief for accepting lodging and meals at ski resort, golf outing from vendor,” by James Pentland, Daily Hampshire Gazette. — “State police patrols to return to Springfield this summer, a year after record homicide rate,” by Jeanette DeForge, The Springfield Republican. — “Leverett residents back Gaza cease-fire resolution at Saturday’s Town Meeting,” by Aalianna Marietta, Daily Hampshire Gazette.
| | MEANWHILE IN RHODE ISLAND | | NEW ENGLAND VS. EVERYONE — Turns out President Joe Biden’s campaign doesn’t just run on staffers from Massachusetts, even though we are the center of the known universe. The Boston Globe’s Dan McGowan notes that the incumbent’s reelection bid is also being staffed by plenty of people with ties to Little Rhody.
| | YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS | | SPOTTED — Former Boston mayor, past Labor secretary and NHLPA boss Marty Walsh speaking at a fundraiser for Rep. Jake Auchincloss in Brookline last Thursday, per a Playbook tipster. HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Matt Segneri, Matt Wilder, Martin Kessler, Nam Pham, Nikko Mendoza, James Barron of Barron Associates Worldwide and Joseph Bottum. Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
