Palfrey Denounces SuperPAC Spending in Massachusetts Attorney General’s Race

In full transparency, the following is a press release from the Palfrey campaign submitted to SOURCE media.

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BOSTON – Today, August 18, former Assistant Attorney General Quentin Palfrey denounced new superPAC spending on behalf of Andrea Campbell in the Attorney General’s race and called on Campbell to clarify her previous misleading statements about her superPAC support from large corporate donors.

“Andrea Campbell has been misleading voters by repeatedly stating that there is no superPAC spending on her behalf in this race, while simultaneously signaling for support from corporate special interests and calling anyone who drew attention to it a liar,” a spokesperson for the Palfrey campaign said. “In a televised appearance with Janet Wu, Campbell said concerns about potential superPAC support from corporate donors who spent $2 million to back her 2021 bid for Boston mayor were ‘blatant lies.’ Today, we are seeing a six-figure surge in superPAC support for Campbell’s Attorney General bid, led largely by the very same big corporate donors who previously supported Campbell’s mayoral bid.”

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In her May 2022 appearance on On the Record, Campbell said “there is no SuperPAC spending in the AG’s race, there is no corporate funding” and called concerns about superPAC spending “blatant lies.” Campbell has repeatedly refused to sign the People’s Pledge to disavow SuperPACs.

Last month, Campbell began actively signaling for superPAC support with a red box on her website. Campbell has repeatedly attacked Palfrey for running a clean elections campaign, criticizing his use of the Massachusetts public financing system as “taxpayer money.”

The public financing system was passed by the legislature to support clean elections candidates and is funded by Massachusetts residents who specifically opt-in to support candidates like Palfrey who agree to spending limits and reject corporate special interest money.

Campbell is now the beneficiary of a $143,000 ad buy by a superPAC called the ELM Action Fund.

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While ELM has traditionally advocated on environmental issues, this surge in superPAC spending is largely being bankrolled by the very same corporate backers of Campbell’s previous SuperPACs who had no history of donating to environmental groups.

“The Attorney General needs to be independent of special interest money to be able to stand up for the people of Massachusetts,” Palfrey said. “Voters have a clear choice in this race. As Attorney General, I will take on the special interests who have blocked progress on Medicare for All, workers rights, educational equity, reining in health care costs, and urgent action on the climate crisis. The corporate superPAC support for Campbell will make it impossible for her to be the People’s Lawyer.”

On September 6, voters who choose a Democratic ballot will choose between Palfrey, Campbell and Shannon Liss-Riordan for Attorney General. The winner of the primary will appear on the November 8 ballot.

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