Geoff Diehl

Geoff Diehl
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 7th Plymouth district
In office January 5, 2011 – January 3, 2019
Preceded by	Allen McCarthy
Succeeded by	Alyson Sullivan
Personal details
Born	(1969-04-23) April 23, 1969 (age 52) Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party	Republican (2009–present)
Other political affiliations	Democratic (1996–2009)
Spouse(s)	KathyJo Boss
Children	2
Education	Lehigh University (BA)

Geoffrey G. Diehl (born April 23, 1969) is an American Republican politician. He represented the 7th Plymouth district in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 2011 to 2019.^[1]

He claims to have served as Donald Trump's Massachusetts campaign co-chair during the 2016 presidential election^[2] but the title never existed in Trump’s 2016 Massachusetts campaign, and his involvement was only during the primary election but not the general election.^{[citation needed]} In 2018, Diehl unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren. He won the Republican nomination but received only 36% of the vote. He is a Republican candidate in the 2022 Massachusetts gubernatorial election.^[3]

Early life and education[]

Geoff Diehl was born at St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He attended Lake Forest Academy and graduated from Lehigh University in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in government and urban studies.

Career[]

After graduating, he moved to New York City and worked in advertising. He later worked in television production in Los Angeles, California.

In 2001, he moved to his wife's hometown of Whitman, Massachusetts, where he worked as an account executive in the sign industry. Diehl registered to vote as a Democrat in 1996 and supported various Democratic politicians throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, including Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly and Vice President Joe Biden before later registering as a Republican.^[4]

Massachusetts House of Representatives[]

2010 election[]

Diehl began his campaign for representative of the 7th Plymouth District on February 22, 2010. Diehl received support from previous representatives from the same district including Andrew Card, Michael Sullivan, Ned Kirby, and Ronald Whitney. Diehl also received the endorsement of U.S. Senator Scott Brown.^[5]

On November 2, 2010, he upset incumbent Allen McCarthy and was sworn in on January 5, 2011.

He was a member of the Joint Committee on Housing, House Committee on Global Warming and Climate Change, and the House Committee on Technology and Intergovernmental Affairs.^[6] Diehl also served as a member of the House Library Caucus and Regional School Caucus.

Tank the Gas Tax Movement[]

Geoff Diehl was a lead supporter of the successful ballot question campaign to repeal the Massachusetts gas tax indexing law in 2014.^[7]

2018 U.S. Senate election[]

In April 2017, Diehl announced his intent to challenge Elizabeth Warren for her U.S. Senate seat.^[8][9] In the Republican primary election held on September 4, 2018, Diehl finished first in a field of three candidates.^[10]

Diehl campaigned strongly on his support for President Trump. He endorsed Trump in 2016 and claimed to have been a state co-chair on his 2016 campaign. This claim was disputed or qualified by other Republicans, who noted that Diehl's position was purely honorary and only awarded after Trump had won the Massachusetts primary.^[11]

The general election was held on November 6, 2018. Senator Elizabeth Warren defeated Diehl by twenty-four percentage points.

2022 gubernatorial campaign[]

Following Diehl's 2018 Senate election loss to Elizabeth Warren he was elected to the Massachusetts Republican Party's state committee.^[12][13] He was finance committee chairman for the state Republican Party until February 2021, when he stepped down from the role.^[13]

Diehl has aligned himself with Donald Trump.^[14] He was Massachusetts state co-chair of Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, an honorary position that he has touted,^[15][16] as well as a Trump delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention.^[17] Diehl also supported Jim Lyons, the chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party, who in January 2021 was reelected to the party chairmanship after defeating a challenge from Shawn Dooley.^[12]

In December 2020, Diehl publicly began to consider a possible Republican primary challenge to incumbent governor Charlie Baker in 2022.^[18] As a candidate, Diehl criticized federal and state restrictions put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[15] For example, in January 2021, Diehl criticized Baker for retaining a 25% indoor capacity limit on businesses.^[19] Diehl also criticized Baker for participating in the bipartisan Transportation and Climate Initiative.^[15]

On January 25, 2021, Diehl joined with a pro-Trump faction of the Massachusetts Republican Party State Committee who called for Baker to be censured over his comments supporting the impeachment of Trump on charges of incitement of insurrection for his role in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Republican officials demanded that Baker retract his comments.^[20]

In February 2021, Diehl attended a maskless fundraiser in West Roxbury with Steve Bannon as the special guest. The event broke many state and local COVID-19 rules.^[21][22]

On July 4, 2021, Diehl formally announced his candidacy for governor.^[23] Trump endorsed Diehl for governor on October 5, 2021.^[14][24] After Trump was defeated in the 2020 presidential election, Diehl promoted Trump's false claims that the election was "stolen."^[14][24] In August 2021, Diehl called for a "forensic audit" of Massachusetts's 2020 election;^[14] and in October 2021, one day before Trump endorsed him, Diehl claimed that the entire presidential election was "rigged."^[14][24] Diehl also called for Baker to veto a bill that would allow for mail-in voting permanently, claiming without evidence that absentee ballots have led to voter fraud.^[24]

Electoral history[]

United States Senate election in Massachusetts general election results by county, 2018:

  Warren—70–80%

  Warren—60–70%

  Warren—50–60%

  Diehl—40–50%

Personal life[]

Prior to his entry to politics, Diehl was a member of the Whitman Finance Committee. He remains a member of the MetroSouth Chamber of Commerce, and South Shore Chamber of Commerce. Diehl is also an Eagle Scout. Diehl and his wife, KathyJo, have two daughters. They live in Whitman, Massachusetts.^{[citation needed]}

References[]