Republican gubernatorial hopeful Mike Kennealy plans to proceed ignoring a state legislation that limits the amount of money a candidate for governor can mortgage themselves every election, even after regulators requested him a number of occasions to reclassify lots of of 1000’s of {dollars} he has loaned his marketing campaign, his lawyer stated in a letter this summer time.
Kennealy, a former cupboard secretary underneath Gov. Charlie Baker, has pledged to seed his marketing campaign with $2 million in loans, and he has largely relied on that self-funding to kick-start his gubernatorial run.
However the loans, together with $200,000 he handed his marketing campaign final month, have began to attract scrutiny from state regulators due to a Massachusetts legislation that limits candidate loans at $200,000 per election cycle.
In a number of letters this summer time, an auditor with the Workplace of Marketing campaign and Political Finance has demanded that the Kennealy marketing campaign reclassify $1 million in money that the Lexington Republican has loaned his marketing campaign as “individual contributions from the candidate.”
However Chris Ashby, a Washington, D.C.-based lawyer working for Kennealy, has stated the marketing campaign doesn’t plan to observe orders.
“Mr. Kennealy intends to continue contributing loan funds to The Kennealy Committee, and The Kennealy Committee will continue to report its receipt of those contributions as loans,” Ashby wrote in a June 27 letter that responded to one of many first letters from OCPF despatched on June 24.
A spokesperson for Kennealy declined to remark.
Candidates can sometimes get well as much as $200,000 in money they’ve loaned to their campaigns by repaying themselves utilizing cash from their accounts. Kennealy has stated he needs to mortgage himself $2 million as a substitute of contributing it instantly in order that his household can recoup the cash within the occasion of a “tragedy.”
He requested marketing campaign finance regulators earlier this 12 months to waive the mortgage restrict legislation and even petitioned them to declare it unconstitutional due to a 1976 U.S. Supreme Courtroom Case and a 2004 ruling from the U.S. Courtroom of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit that handled candidate’s private spending on their campaigns.
Marketing campaign finance regulators apparently didn’t grant the waiver, in response to the Kennealy marketing campaign.
Within the June 27 letter, Ashby stated Massachusetts marketing campaign finance regulators “declined to opine that the candidate loan limitation in Massachusetts General laws … is unconstitutional” underneath the U.S. Supreme Courtroom Case.
Ashby stated he and regulators agreed that state legislation doesn’t truly prohibit a candidate from loaning themselves greater than $200,000 however fairly, “as a technical legal matter, prohibits the candidate’s committee from repaying more than $200,000 of a candidate loan.”
“I further understand that audit letters such as the one The Kennealy Committee received last week are an important part of OCPF’s process to facilitate compliance by the regulated community with the candidate loan limitation,” Ashby stated within the letter to OCPF Common Counsel Sarah Hartry.
A spokesperson for OCPF stated the company doesn’t touch upon particular authorized points until they’ve been resolved by way of a public doc. The spokesperson additionally stated he “can’t comment on the accuracy” of the letter Ashby despatched regulators.
Kennealy’s $200,000 mortgage final month helped him pull in probably the most money in September amongst these operating for governor, together with one other Republican opponent and Gov. Maura Healey. He additionally raised greater than $75,000 from particular person contributions, in response to state information.
Healey raised practically $268,000 and spent practically $68,000 whereas Brian Shortsleeve, a former MBTA official operating for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, raised greater than $75,000 in September and spent over $90,000, state information present.
Healey has raised practically $2.4 million this 12 months, in response to her marketing campaign.
“Gov. Healey’s strong fundraising numbers in September and throughout 2025 show that Massachusetts voters know that she is the only candidate who can deliver on lowering the cost of housing, health care, and energy and will stand up to the damage Donald Trump is doing every day,” a spokesperson for her marketing campaign stated in an announcement.
In an announcement over the weekend, Shortsleeve stated his marketing campaign is powered “by grassroots supporters across Massachusetts who believe it’s time for a Marine, a businessman, and a proven reformer to get our state back on track.”
“I’m honored by the trust and investment of thousands of citizens who know we can restore affordability, accountability, and common sense to Beacon Hill,” Shortsleeve stated in an announcement.
Michael Minogue, a serious donor to nationwide Republican causes, launched his marketing campaign for governor final week. He didn’t report any cash raised or spent in September, in response to state information.
Brian Shortsleeve, a possible GOP candidate for Massachusetts governor, speaks with the Herald throughout an interview on the Prudential Heart. (Libby O’Neill/Boston Herald
Brian Shortsleeve (Herald file)
