Taylor’s Takes: Misadventures at the MassGOP Convention

I’m sure by now you’ve either read or heard about the troubles at this past weekend’s MassGOP Convention in Worcester.

I’m here to set the record straight, kind of.

This was my first time attending the convention in any capacity. I had never covered it for press purposes and had never served as a delegate before Saturday.

I suppose you could say that I was a bit starry-eyed about the whole affair, or was at least sporting a pair of rose-colored glasses. I was excited to not only be part of a political process but to get to better know some of my peers who are more deeply entrenched in the world of state politics than myself.

Assuming one had paid the delegate fee (a $200 donation to the MassGOP), you had two opportunities to check in to the convention and collect your credentials. The first opportunity was Friday afternoon between 4 and 6 pm.

Now, Worcester may be Central Massachusetts, but it is not central to most of the delegates, most of whom live within 30 miles of the coast. Most people who work standard hours or weren’t planning on staying in town the night before the convention would not have been able to make it to the early check-in on time. And I fell into that category, unfortunately.

I didn’t think it would be a big deal. I knew that I would not likely make the early check-in and had already planned on being at the DCU arena a few minutes before the doors opened at 8 am Saturday morning to check off my name and collect my delegate pass.

I spent Friday night chatting with former Bristol County Sheriff Tom Hodgson and his lovely wife at the Mike Minogue party and then hitting a few late spots with some friends from my Republican Town Committee.

The line at the DCU arena was already several hundred deep by the time I arrived to wait for the doors to open. I was pleased to see they had a semblance of security measures in place, but outside of that, organization and efficiency were left to be desired.

The check-in sections, which you could not see unless you stood over 5’10” and happened to catch a glimpse of the signs between the bobbing heads of fellow height-advantaged delegates, were separated into four tables by the first letter of a delegate’s last name (A-E, F-K, etc.). This made for pandemonium inside the lobby and directly in front of the tables.

It took over an hour for me to reach the head of the line and receive my credentials. It was no wonder it took so long, as there was nobody under the age of 60 charged with locating a single name on a list of hundreds of others, all the while being heckled and hectored by impatient delegates.

The most embarrassing part of the entire convention (others may disagree, but only because most were not present for what I’m about to tell you) was the size of the audience for the keynote speakers. Because the check-in process was so sluggish, most attendees were still outside of the arena by the time the first few VIPs took the stage. Podcaster Mike Urban had only a handful of a few hundred people in the audience, which feels like an audience of none in the frame of a full arena.

A few hundred more had managed to reach their seats by the time Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon began his presentation. It was still very apparent that the convention to this point had been a misadventure in expedience.

The nominations for uncontested Republican candidates for offices like Attorney General, Treasurer, and the like went fairly smoothly. Some in my area complained about their speeches, questioning why the candidates felt it necessary to make their sales pitches when they had no in-party competition. I, for one, having not paid much attention to these candidates, enjoyed the chance to hear their impassioned pleas for support.

Up until this point, all of the nominations had been made by acclamation rather than tallied votes. But now is when things get thorny.

The vote for Lieutenant Governor is when the wheels began falling off the wagon. The process was stodgy at best. The captains of each district would call names, with respective delegates rising out of their seats, making their way toward the captain at the head of the section, and verbally telling the captain for whom they were casting their vote.

The vote-taking process was so sluggish that, in fact, entire sections of the arena had failed to complete their votes before the allotted time had expired. This caused a nearly 90-minute delay.

Thank God for Mike Minogue (whom I had already decided on as my candidate choice) and his billions of dollars. Minogue’s team provided free pizza and beer to delegates who sported his button on their lapels.

The vote for Governor was only slightly smoother.

After hearing from each of the candidates, we slogged through the same voting process as previously mentioned. Fortunately, all delegates were able to cast their votes in time.

What gummed up the works, reportedly, was the Minogue team heavily supervising the count of the ballots. The Minogue team had been out in full force earlier in the day, keeping careful watch on those checking in delegates. They must have been as militarily keen on eyeballing those counting the votes.

Minogue again flew in to the rescue, opening the bars on the concourse for another 90+ minute delay, however justified it may have been.

All in all, I had a very enjoyable time at the 2026 MassGOP Convention (partly due to Mike Minogue’s generosity).

I’m leaving a brief list of suggestions for Amy Carnevale and the staff at the MassGOP to consider below for the next convention, of which I hope to take part.

Outside of my constructive criticism for them, I do have one piece of advice for anyone thinking about becoming a delegate in the future: Be patient, and expect to devote the whole day to this endeavor.

I don’t think the lack of organization in some aspects of the convention was indicative of the state of the Republican Party in Massachusetts, as others within earshot of me had suggested that day. I think their impatience and griping is more of a barometer. Rebuilding this Party in this state takes time. Embrace the feeling of privilege in helping to restore The Commonwealth to its former glory.

And so, Mrs. Carnevale, I respectfully submit my suggestions for consideration in implementation at the next MassGOP Convention:

1. Extend early check-in hours for those arriving the day before the convention
2. Establish categorized lines outside of the arena using signs above the exterior doors and rope lines separating attendees by last name
3. Place younger volunteers (40 and under) in charge of the check-in process
4. Hire a vendor to electronically check in and verify the identities of delegates
5. Create a secure delegate app or webpage where votes can be cast (perhaps using a unique code that corresponds to their delegate badge)
6. Increase the delegate fee by $50 and provide an equally valuable voucher to be redeemed at food and beverage stands (or at least make that an option)
7. Make more of an appeal to younger people to attend RTCs and become delegates