Waltham, MA – Leading Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Kennealy is calling on opponents Mike Minogue and Brian Shortsleeve to honor voters’ calls for a primary debate after both campaigns rejected efforts to schedule one.

City Councilor Shawn Oliver, joined by Republican activists on the South Coast, reached out to all campaigns to organize a debate for GOP primary voters. Brian Shortsleeve has publicly stated that he would debate only if Mike Minogue agreed, a calculated stance given that Minogue’s ‘basement strategy’ appears to have no end in sight. Minogue then flatly refused the opportunity, effectively killing the proposal.

Kennealy condemned the stonewalling, stating:

“Voters deserve a debate, period. I have been leading the charge throughout this primary to get a debate on the books. We already have a Governor who leads with absence and arrogance. We should be showing Massachusetts voters there is a better path. Instead, the Minogue and Shortsleeve campaigns are taking a page out of her playbook. To be clear: I will debate anywhere, any time. Massachusetts voters deserve it.”

“We can’t defeat Governor Healey with slogans and platitudes. We will only defeat her by nominating someone whose experience across business, education, and state and local government gives them the credibility to expose her failures and the competence to lead on day one. I am the only candidate in this race who can do that.”

With the affordability crisis deepening, energy costs rising, and families feeling left behind, Kennealy emphasized that Republican voters deserve a full and open discussion about the future of the Commonwealth, not campaigns that avoid scrutiny.

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