LOWELL — Contrasting his own successes in the commonwealth with U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren’s “grandstanding” in Washington, D.C., state Rep. Geoff Diehl made the case Thursday for why he should replace Massachusetts’ senior senator.
Diehl, a Republican from Whitman, kicked off his campaign for the Senate on Tuesday, before beginning a tour of the state. He stopped at Lowell Automatic Transmission on Chelmsford Street to highlight his successful efforts in 2014 to repeal the automatic gas tax increase.
“We’ve been able to win issues here in Massachusetts,” he told a small group of reporters and supporters. “It’s time to send somebody who’s going to work for the people down to Washington.”
Diehl was President Donald Trump’s Massachusetts campaign co-chair during the 2016 election and he has brushed off demands from many Democrats in the state that he disavow some of president’s actions.
In that sense, there could not be a clearer distinction between Diehl and Warren, who is one of the most vocal and high-profile Trump critics in national politics.
Diehl said Warren was too busy writing books and preparing for a presidential campaign in 2020 to accomplish anything for Massachusetts.
“She has zero relationship with the administration, zero chance of success on being a partner in anything that we need here in Massachusetts,” he said. “Like I mentioned — health care, we need to make sure D.C. fixes it so Massachusetts can grow. We need transportation infrastructure investments. How is she going to have a seat at the table when all she does is basically grandstanding?”
Warren won election to the Senate in 2012, defeating incumbent Scott Brown 53-46 percent. Brown, a Republican, had shocked many when he defeated former Attorney General Martha Coakley in the 2010 special election.
Diehl, who was elected as a state representative in 2010, compared his underdog campaign to Brown’s and touted his reputation as a steward for taxpayers’ money who has taken on special interests statewide.
He chaired the Tank the Gas Tax committee that led campaign to repeal an automatic gas tax increase law passed in 2013. As a state representative he also opposed a pay hike for members of the Legislature and the city of Boston’s efforts to bring the 2024 Olympics to Massachusetts.
Supporters at Tuesday’s campaign stop pointed to those stances as an example of Diehl’s commitment to fiscal responsibility.
“When it comes to fiscal responsibility, Geoff has always been there,” said Kamara Kay, a former candidate for state representative who is active in Lowell politics. “You’re supposed to spend the people’s money like you’re spending your own money.”
Follow Todd Feathers on Twitter @ToddFeathers.
