Geoff Diehl in 2022 MA Governor's race
On Civil Rights:
Supports gay GOP candidate criticized by committee member
Massachusetts Republican State Committee member Deborah Martell wrote in an email that she was "sickened" that a Republican Congressional candidate who is married to a man had adopted kids. Gov. Baker and others called for her to resign from the
panel. "First of all, I totally side with the candidate, very nice guy, lovely family, absolutely support his run for Congress," Diehl said. "Secondly, I think the state committeewoman who made the comments was wrong in what she said."
Source: WGBH NPR-Boston on 2022 Massachusetts Gubernatorial race
Jul 7, 2021
On Crime:
Police should not be condemned, but supported
Diehl said the idea of defunding police and taking away qualified immunity for officers was wrong. He said while transgressions like
George Floyd's killing need to be called out and fixed, police as an institution should not be condemned, but supported.
Source: The Patriot Ledger on 2022 Massachusetts Gubernatorial race
Jul 7, 2021
On Energy & Oil:
A vocal critic of the Transportation Climate Initiative
Carbon-pricing bills have been filed for years on Beacon Hill but have not gathered the necessary momentum to become law. Gov. Baker last month was forced to scrap Massachusetts's participation multi-state cap-and-trade program known as the
Transportation Climate Initiative (TCI) as political support in other states eroded. Republican gubernatorial candidate Geoff Diehl has been a vocal critic of TCI, which would have bumped up the price of gasoline.
Source: Dorchester Reporter on 2022 Massachusetts Gubernatorial race
Dec 23, 2021
On Government Reform:
Opposes permanent mail-in voting as open to fraud
The endorsement comes after Diehl falsely claimed that "the 2020 election was rigged, an often-repeated line from Trump acolytes. Diehl called on Baker to reject a bill that would allow for mail-in voting permanently, claiming without evidence that
absentee ballots have led to fraud. Experts say there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud; Massachusetts elections officials say they are not aware of any recent voter fraud cases.
Source: Boston Globe on 2022 Massachusetts Gubernatorial race
Oct 5, 2021
On Immigration:
Get undocumented processed as citizens as quickly as we can
Diehl differs from other Republicans on the status of undocumented people. He said there should be a faster process to naturalize people. He said when people are undocumented they have trouble getting things such as driver's licenses and legal jobs
and can become dependent on government services. "Rather than just continue the misery, let's try to just nip it in the bud and get them processed as citizens as quickly as possible. That's something I'd like to see us as a state take a lead in."
Source: The Patriot Ledger on 2022 Massachusetts Gubernatorial race
Jul 7, 2021
On Jobs:
COVID: State should have furloughed non-essential employees
Diehl levied criticisms against the Baker administration over the hardships that small businesses faced during the pandemic, saying that the state government could have laid off or furloughed non-essential employees to show reciprocity with those
working in the private sector. He also called out the state government on the slow initial rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations & the deaths at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home.[The interviewer noted that] MA now has one of country's highest vaccination rates.
Source: WGBH NPR-Boston on 2022 Massachusetts Gubernatorial race
Jul 7, 2021
On Principles & Values:
We're looking to re-empower the individual in Massachusetts
[On individuality]: "The opportunity to run for governor gives me a chance to follow through on a lot of the issues," Diehl said. "We're looking to re-empower the individual in Massachusetts. After government really stepped in in a big way (during the
pandemic), we think that this is a chance to reset the conversation about how small businesses are important, how individual household budgets are important, about getting kids to and from school again and enhancing the way education is delivered."
Source: The Patriot Ledger on 2022 Massachusetts Gubernatorial race
Jul 7, 2021
On Principles & Values:
Would rather leave national politics out of governor's race
Diehl, a Trump supporter who co-chaired the former president's 2016 campaign in Massachusetts, is ideologically at odds with Baker. The state committee, on which Diehl serves, moved to censure Baker after the governor signaled his support
for impeaching Trump. But the former state representative appeared to distance himself from Trump, telling reporters he would "rather leave national politics out of this race" when asked if he would seek the former president's endorsement.
Source: The Boston Herald on 2022 Massachusetts Gubernatorial race
Jul 6, 2021
On Government Reform:
Forensic audit of 2020 Massachusetts election results
Diehl initially rejected false claims about the 2020 election, saying in July 2021 that "I don't think it was a stolen election" and that Republicans need to "stop crying over spilled milk." But Diehl soon began shifting. By the Sept. 2022 primary, he
was explicitly saying that the election was stolen.Asked in July 2021 whether he thought the election was stolen, Diehl said, "I don't know. I don't think you or anybody knows at this point." The next month, Diehl called for a "forensic audit" in
Massachusetts to search for "possible irregularities." In Oct. 2021, Diehl issued a statement falsely saying, "Sadly, it has become clear as the audit results from Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania have come to light, that the 2020 election was rigged."
The next day, Trump announced he was endorsing Diehl.
In Aug. 2022, Diehl said : "The fact of the matter is: I was wrong initially. It definitely was an election that was stolen from Trump. And it was rigged in a way that should never happen again."
Source: CNN on 2020 Election Denial:2022 Massachusetts Governor race
Sep 9, 2022
Page last updated: Feb 14, 2023