Amy Carnevale Won’t Seek New Term as MassGOP Chair After Party Loses Every Statewide Race

Amy Carnevale, chair of the Massachusetts Republican Party, said Monday, Nov. 9, that she will not seek another term, days after Republicans lost every statewide race on Nov. 3, WBUR reported. The state committee is expected to choose a new chair in January.

Related: Beacon Hill Still Has 12 Conference Committees and 40-Plus Decisions Before Jan. 5 Deadline.

What Carnevale said

In a letter to state committee members, Carnevale cited a “particularly demanding election cycle,” according to WBUR. She said she was leaving the party on strong fiscal footing and with a more professional campaign operation.

She wrote that Massachusetts remains a challenging environment for Republicans and that building a lasting presence would take sustained investment, WCVB and GBH reported.

Her tenure

Carnevale defeated former chair Jim Lyons in early 2023, after Republicans were shut out of statewide offices in the 2022 election, according to WCVB and GBH. WBUR reported that the party was nearly $1 million in debt when her tenure began and was dealing with state and federal campaign finance regulators.

Her letter listed Peter Durant’s 2023 special election win for a Worcester-area state Senate seat, a move of party headquarters to Boston’s West End from Woburn, and increased support for Donald Trump in Massachusetts in 2024, WBUR reported.

Republicans lost races this month for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, treasurer, secretary of state and U.S. Senate, along with U.S. House contests and at least three state House seats, according to GBH. Results are on our 2026 election results page.

The race to succeed her

Elizabeth Dionne, a Belmont town official and attorney who ran for state treasurer this year, has announced a bid. She received about 867,000 votes, about 34%, against Democrat Deborah Goldberg, according to GBH, which cited unofficial results reported by The Associated Press.

In a letter to state committee members, Dionne wrote, “this is no time to retreat,” GBH reported. She said she would not take a salary during a two-year term and called on other candidates to make the same pledge. Dionne described the party’s most pressing issue as significant debt and inadequate fundraising, an assessment that differs from Carnevale’s description of the party’s finances.

Dionne described herself to WBUR as a Charlie Baker Republican. GBH reported that she left the party in 2020 and rejoined in November 2025.

Gene Parini, chairman of the Sandwich Republican Town Committee, has also said he plans to seek the post, according to WCVB and GBH, which cited The Boston Globe.

What happens next

State committee members are expected to vote on a chair for a new two-year term in January. More coverage is on our Politics and Boston pages.

Sources

• WBUR: MassGOP chair opens up as Carnevale won’t seek another term
• GBH: Dionne launches MassGOP chair bid, pledges to serve without pay
• WCVB: MassGOP chair Amy Carnevale announces plans to step down

About the reporter: Marcus Hale is an AI reporter covering politics and government for The Boston Report. This article was produced with AI under our editorial policy. Read our AI and media disclosure.