Geoff Diehl

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

Geoff Diehl
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 7th Plymouth district
In office January 5, 2011 – January 2, 2019
Preceded by	Allen McCarthy
Succeeded by	Alyson Sullivan-Almeida
Personal details
Born	(1969-04-23) April 23, 1969 (age 55) Austin, Texas, U.S.
Political party	Republican (2009–present)
Other political affiliations	Democratic (1996–2009)
Spouse	KathyJo Boss
Children	2
Education	Lehigh University (BA)

Diehl was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2018 and for governor of Massachusetts in 2022, losing both elections in landslides to Democrats Elizabeth Warren and Maura Healey respectively.^[2]

Early life and education

Geoff Diehl was born in Austin, Texas. At the age of 3, his family moved to 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.^[3]

Career

After graduating, Diehl 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 a business development executive in the sign industry. He also supported his wife in successfully starting and running a performing arts school, Boss Academy.^[4]

Massachusetts House of Representatives

2010 election

Diehl began his campaign to represent 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]

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

Main article: 2018 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

Diehl on the campaign trail in 2018

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] The incumbent, Elizabeth Warren, defeated Diehl by 24 percentage points.^[11][12]

2022 gubernatorial campaign

Main article: 2022 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

On July 4, 2021, Geoff Diehl announced he was running for governor of Massachusetts. In October 2021, Donald Trump endorsed Geoff Diehl for governor.^[13] He was Massachusetts state co-chair of Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and a Trump delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention.^[14] 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.^[15]

As a candidate, Diehl criticized federal and state mandates^[16] put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic and continuously supported workers and first responders being fired for not taking the vaccine. He is a proponent of parents who want to decide for their children whether or not they would like a vaccine.^[17]

At the state party convention on May 21, Diehl was officially endorsed by the Massachusetts Republican Party with 71% of the delegates' votes.^[18] He won the Republican nomination on September 6. On November 8, Attorney General of Massachusetts and Democratic nominee Maura Healey handily defeated Diehl in the general election.^[19]

2024 State Senate campaign

On December 11, 2023 Diehl filed campaign finance paper, changing his accounts' office sought to the Second Plymouth and Norfolk, currently held by Senator Michael Brady (politician). Diehl had previously matched up against Brady in a 2015 special election for the same seat.

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%

Massachusetts Gubernatorial Election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Maura Healey	1,584,403	63.74
	Republican	Geoff Diehl	859,343	34.57
	Libertarian	Kevin Reed	39,244	1.58
	Write-In	Others	2,806	0.11

United States Senate election in Massachusetts, 2018^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Elizabeth Warren (incumbent)	1,633,371	60.34
	Republican	Geoff Diehl	979,210	36.17
	Independent	Shiva Ayyadurai	91,710	3.39
	Write-In	Others	2,799	0.10

2016 Election for Massachusetts' 7th Plymouth House District

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Geoff Diehl (Incumbent)	17,088	99.20
	Write-In	Others	144	0.80

2015 Special Election for Massachusetts' 2nd Bristol and Plymouth State Senate District^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michael Brady	14,397	56.9
	Republican	Geoff Diehl	10,245	40.5
	Independent	Anna Raduc	649	2.56
	Write-In	Others	10	0.04

2014 Election for Massachusetts' 7th Plymouth House District

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Geoff Diehl (Incumbent)	11,528	99.20
	Write-In	Others	92	0.80

2012 Election for Massachusetts' 7th Plymouth House District

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Geoff Diehl (Incumbent)	10,942	54.20
	Democratic	Robert L. Toomey, Jr.	9,232	45.70
	Write-In	Others	25	0.10

2010 Election for Massachusetts' 7th Plymouth House District^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Geoff Diehl	8,553	51.24
	Democratic	Allen J. McCarthy	8,132	48.72
	Write-In	Others	6	0.04

Personal life

Before he entered 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.^[23]

References

1. "Representative Geoff Diehl". www.malegislature.gov.
2. Joyce, Tom. "Geoff Diehl To Run For Governor Of Massachusetts". NewBostonPost. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
3. "About Me". Geoff Diehl For Governor. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
4. "Boss Academy of Performing Arts". Boss Academy of Performing Arts.
5. Preer, Robert (October 31, 2010). "Challengers, not all GOP, seek upsets". Boston.com. Boston Globe. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
6. "Representative Geoff Diehl". malegislature.gov. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
7. Matt Murphy. "Rep. Diehl leads way on gas tax question". wickedlocal.com. Archived from the original on July 22, 2018. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
8. O'Sullivan, Jim (April 6, 2017). "GOP's Geoff Diehl sets stage for challenge to Elizabeth Warren". The Boston Globe. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
9. "It's Official: Republican Geoff Diehl Is Running To Unseat Senator Elizabeth Warren". August 2, 2017.
10. "Massachusetts Primary Election Results". The New York Times. September 4, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
11. "PD43+ » Search Elections". PD43+. Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Elections Division. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
12. "Return of Votes" (PDF). November 6, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 26, 2019. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
13. "Former President Donald Trump endorses Geoff Diehl in bid for Mass. Governor".
14. Steve LeBlanc, Massachusetts delegates beginning trek to GOP convention, Associated Press (July 16, 2016).
15. Christian M. Wade (January 5, 2021). "Lyons wins another term as GOP chair". Salem News.
16. "Geoff Diehl on Employer Vaccine Mandates". YouTube.
17. "Parents for Diehl".
18. "Diehl wins, Doughty advances at GOP convention". May 22, 2022.
19. https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ovr/ ^{[bare URL]}
20. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 29, 2018. Retrieved May 24, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
21. "PD43+ - 2015 State Senate Special General Election 2nd Bristol and Plymouth District". Retrieved October 8, 2018.
22. "PD43+ - Search Elections". Retrieved October 8, 2018.
23. Joyce, Tom (September 13, 2022). "Geoff Diehl Gets Specific On Tax-Cutting Agenda". NewBostonPost. Retrieved May 27, 2023.

External links

• Appearances on C-SPAN

Massachusetts House of Representatives
Preceded by Allen McCarthy	Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 7th Plymouth district 2011–2019	Succeeded by Alyson Sullivan-Almeida
Party political offices
Preceded by Scott Brown	Republican nominee for U.S. senator from Massachusetts (Class 1) 2018	Succeeded by John Deaton
Preceded by Charlie Baker	Republican nominee for Governor of Massachusetts 2022	Most recent