After working as a top advisor to President Donald Trump in the highest echelons of politics, Corey Lewandowski is now helping a Trump-friendly Republican candidate for governor in Massachusetts.
"Look, I know a winner when I see him. Geoff Diehl's a winner," Lewandowski said.
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But Diehl has lost his last two elections — one for state Senate and one for U.S. Senate.
"Yeah, running against Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts, it's not an easy race. This is a very different race," Lewandowski said. "This is an open seat. Open because Charlie Baker has decided not to run for a third term."
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Lewandowski feels confident, based in part on the state's track record electing Republican governors, who have led Massachusetts for 22 of the last 30 years. He argued that voters are leery of one-party rule.
Lewandowski was heading up a pro-Trump super PAC until September, when he was fired after a Trump donor accused him of making unwanted sexual advances at a Las Vegas charity event.
Asked if he had anything to say about that, Lewandowski only said, "You know, I don't. Look, people can say and do whatever they want, and I have left everything to the attorneys to deal with."
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Did Trump cut him out?
"Well the truth is, I still talk to the [former] president on a very regular basis," Lewandowski said.
Diehl, Trump's 2016 state campaign co-chair, got the former president's endorsement last fall just after changing his tune, declaring that he had concerns with the 2020 election results.
Despite Trump's repeated claims, without evidence, that the election was stolen, courts roundly dismissed cases seeking to overturn the results. Some of these dismissals came from judges Trump appointed himself.
Most Massachusetts voters understand that Joe Biden legitimately won the election. The state shows some of the lowest poll numbers for Trump in the country.
Given that, how does Lewandowski see a pathway for Diehl? He argued that Trump won the Republican primary in Massachusetts.
Reminded of the tiny percentage Republicans hold in the state, Lewandowski said, "I agree with you, but here's the difference: You have to look at the policies that Donald Trump espoused."
Lewandowski sees Diehl pulling ahead at the end — much like Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin beat Democrat Terry McAuliffe.
