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Straight Pride Parade organizer who attended Capitol riot could be litmus test for Mass. GOP
Samson Racioppi, who has helped lead Super Happy Fun America, is up against the more moderate CJ Fitzwater in a race for a seat in the state House.
The Massachusetts primary election day is around the corner. Although major races like the Democratic primary for attorney general have risen to the forefront of the election season news cycle, a small contest between Republican candidates in a few North Shore towns could have important implications for the future of the state GOP.
The race in question is the Republican primary for the 1st Essex District state House seat. Samson Racioppi, representing the party’s right wing, is up against CJ Fitzwater, a more moderate candidate. The specific circumstances of this race are unique, The Boston Globe reported, and state party leaders will most likely determine who will proceed to November’s general election.
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Racioppi gained recognition in 2019 for helping organize a “Straight Pride Parade” in the city, which drew national attention as well as a sizable counter-protest. Racioppi helped lead the right-wing group Super Happy Fun America, which was the driving force behind the parade.
Super Happy Fun America, which most recently drew attention for protesting outside the FBI office in Chelsea in response to the FBI’s raid of Mar-a-Lago, is seen by some experts as a force bridging the gap between mainstream conservatives and the extremist, far-right wing of the party that openly espouses neo-Nazi and white nationalist ideals.
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In January 2021, the group chartered six buses to bring supporters of then-President Donald Trump from New England to Washington in order to protest the 2020 election results. Racioppi was outside the U.S. Capitol as the protest turned into a violent mob that stormed the building, The Washington Post reported. Racioppi told the Post he witnessed police pepper spraying the crowd, as well as rioters attempting to overturn a barricade before leaving the area. At least one person who traveled to Washington on the buses was arrested.
Across from Racioppi stands Fitzwater, who supports abortion rights and gun control laws.
“I’m not going to kowtow to an extremist right-wing party that supports a president who lost an election, that supports radical ideas that are contrary to conservative Massachusetts values,” Fitzwater told the Globe.
The race is unusual because it is coming on the heels of incumbent James Kelcourse leaving his position to join the Parole Board. His name will still appear on the primary ballot, but Kelcourse will withdraw from the race, he told the Globe.
Racioppi and Fitzwater will run as write-in candidates. However, state party leaders are not required to nominate the candidate who garners the most votes. State law dictates that, in circumstances like this, the decision will be made by the state GOP’s executive committee, according to the Globe. This group of about 20 people includes moderates like Fitzwater and further-right supporters of Trump like party chair Jim Lyons. Earlier this year, Lyons told supporters that Trump was the “greatest president in [his] lifetime,” according to NBC Boston.
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Members of the state GOP’s more moderate faction, like Republican state House Minority Leader Brad Jones, have expressed worry about championing a candidate like Racioppi.
In an interview with the Globe, Jones said that choosing Racioppi would be “a real concern.”
Jones is also a member of the executive committee. When primary races have fallen into the hands of the committee in previous years, decisions on which candidate to choose have been made informally, Jones told the Globe. Sometimes, he added these decisions have been made solely by the party chairman.
Earlier this month, Lyons posed with Racioppi and other notable Massachusetts Republicans like the Trump-backed gubernatorial candidate Geoff Diehl. Lyons told the Globe that, as chairman of the party, he has not endorsed Racioppi or Fitzwater.
“The fact that I’ve come across Jim and that we’ve been formally introduced and had some conversations, I think is a good thing,” Racioppi told the Globe. “But I wouldn’t even fully say that he supports me 100 percent.”
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