Nearly two months after a commanding win in the Massachusetts Republican presidential primary, Donald Trump had another impressive performance in the state Saturday, capturing 23 of the 27 delegates elected in caucuses held in all nine congressional districts.
In the state’s Sixth Congressional District—home to Massachusetts governor and occasional Trump critic Charlie Baker—candidates backed by the Trump campaign won all three delegate seats.
One of those delegates, Harry Loomos of Lynnfield, is obligated to back Marco Rubio during the first round of balloting at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland this July. But If Trump doesn’t garner the 1237 delegates required to secure the nomination during the first round of voting, Loomos will be free to back Trump later on.
After his win, however, Loomos said he doesn’t think his hypothetical ability to cast a pro-Trump vote will be significant.
“I kind of don’t think it’s going to matter, because I think Donald Trump’s going to be strong in Indiana, and he’s looking strong in California as well,” Loomos said, referring to two upcoming primaries.
“He’s also looking strong in a bunch of other states. So I don’t think it’s going to go to a contested convention, despite what so many people want.”
It was clear early on that the crowd gathered for the Sixth District caucus in Wakefield was strongly pro-Trump. Would-be delegates supportive of John Kasich were booed as they addressed the room, prompting the caucus chair, House Minority Leader Brad Jones, to issue multiple pleas for civility. And when Andrew Kingman, a would-be delegate supportive of Marco Rubio, urged those in attendance to embrace a more tolerant GOP, someone shouted: “Traitor!”
For most of the five-and-a-half hour event, though, interactions between Trump backers and supporters of other candidates were low-key and relatively amiable. And according to Jones, turnout far exceeded any previous year in memory.
The other two Trump-backed candidates who won delegate spots in the Sixth District are Arete Pascucci of Middleton and Amy Carnevale of Marblehead.
Trump also had an impressive showing in the Eighth Congressional District Caucus, which was held in Braintree. Three individuals backed by the Trump campaign won delegates slots there, including State Representative Geoff Diehl, Trump’s Massachusetts campaign co-chair.
Trump supporter Rick Coughlin said he hadn't backed the GOP front-runner at first, but changed his mind after watching his campaign over the past few months.
“Between the people who are left right now, Donald Trump is going to be the one that's going to be able to execute that change that we end up needing," Coughlin said. "I don't think you could possibly raise to the levels he's risen in business and just in life with just being full of bluster, without something behind it.”
“He's got some ideas,” Coughlin added. “And quite honestly, if you look back to it, nobody was paying any attention whatsoever to immigration questions and some of the other issues that have been raised. And with all the bluster and the bombast and everything else, people are talking about it now.”
One would-be Trump delegate, Bob McHugh, identified himself as a nephew of the legendary Boston Mayor Michael Curley. He reminded the audience of lunch-bucket Boston and South Shore Republicans that Curley was imprisoned after impersonating a constituent during a civil-service exam to get him a job, and said that if Curley were alive today, he’d be a Trump supporter.
McHugh was not elected.
According to both unofficial results from the Massachusetts GOP and a tally from State Representative Geoff Diehl, Trump's Massachusetts campaign co-chair, candidates backed by Trump's operation captured 23 of 27 delegate slots Saturday.
Only 17 of them can back Trump in the first round of RNC voting. The other six are committed to Kasich, Rubio, and Cruz. But they can switch their allegiance if voting lasts more than one round.
The Massachusetts GOP will send a total of 42 delegates to the RNC. Twenty-seven were selected today, and 12 more will be chosen at an upcoming state committee meeting. The remaining three slots will go to the party's top staffers.
“I think the results in the delegate caucuses today prove that not only are Massachusetts Republicans now galvanizing behind Donald Trump, but [there’s] a coalescing of support around the country for his campaign as well,” Diehl told WGBH News.
“At this point,” he added, “I think we’re seeing that Donald Trump is likely to get to 1237 delegates prior to the convention.”
