Brian Shortsleeve, former MBTA leader, jumps into GOP race for Mass. governor

Brian Shortsleeve, a former MBTA executive, venture capitalist and Marine Corps veteran, announced his Republican primary bid for governor on Monday, calling his campaign a "mission for Massachusetts."

Shortsleeve, 52, of Barnstable, is a first-time candidate and the second Republican from former Gov. Charlie Baker's administration to join the 2026 race for governor.

Running on a platform to "bring commonsense conservative leadership to Beacon Hill," Shortsleeve joins the race with the intent of "cutting taxes, slashing waste and overregulation."

"People are leaving, companies are leaving, students are leaving," he said in an interview with WBUR Monday. "So in my view it's time for a change, and we need a businessman in that corner office."

Shortsleeve said he supported the "entire Republican ticket" in the 2024 election — an immediate contrast to his GOP primary opponent Mike Kennealy, a fellow Baker administration alum, who has said he voted for neither President Trump nor former Vice President Kamala Harris in November.

In a campaign ad, Shortsleeve highlighted plans to cut spending, audit "every" state agency, reduce taxes and fees, and oppose Gov. Maura Healey's approach to immigration and shelter. He also supports repealing the MBTA Communities Act that targets the housing crisis by easing local zoning laws in eastern Massachusetts.

The new candidate didn't specify which taxes he would cut or where he'd chop spending, but said the state budget is "soaring, up 50% in just six years." He pledged to cut "state-mandated charges on your utility bill."

Shortsleeve mentions high costs, wasteful spending, static private sector growth and business outmigration as major items he'll take on if elected to the corner office.

His ad also harkened back to his work at the T under Baker, who tapped Shortsleeve in 2015 to be the T's chief administrator. In 2017, Shortsleeve began serving on the agency's fiscal and management control board.

"We turned things around. Until Governor Healey took it back and broke the budget all over again," Shortsleeve said in his advertisement, when talking about the T. "That's just what career politicians do. They don't solve problems, they just throw your money at them."

While problems at the T persisted through Baker's term and since then, Shortsleeve said he "cut waste, balanced the budget [and] modernized the system" at the T. In recent years under the Healey administration, state leaders have pointed to MBTA General Manager Phil Eng as the figure mending the struggling transit system.

Shortly after Shortsleeve's announcement Monday morning, Kennealy's campaign contested his claim about "turning things around" at the MBTA.

"When Brian Shortsleeve had his chance to lead, he mismanaged the MBTA and left it in just as big a mess as he found it," Kennealy campaign manager Ben Hincher said in a statement. "It’s hard to imagine what exactly he’s ‘proud’ of."

Shortsleeve rebuffed the criticism Monday. "Clearly it shows I'm the candidate to beat — in politics you don't shoot backwards," he said. "I'm running against Maura Healey. I'm not running against Mike Kennealy."

Democratic Party Chair Steve Kerrigan also took aim at Shortsleeve's record, as well as his support for Trump.

Saying "the people of Massachusetts don't want to hire the guy who ran the T into the ground to run their entire state," Kerrigan tagged the candidate as "Brian 'Slowzone' Shortsleeve," a reference to subway system stretches where trains have been unable to run at normal speeds due to disrepair.

"Another member of the Trump crowd has entered the Republican race for Governor," Kerrigan said in a statement. "Brian Shortsleeve voted for Donald Trump and chaired Trump loyalist Ron DeSantis’s presidential campaign. He’s not going to stand up to Trump as he takes away health care from the seniors, women and children, halts research for cures to cancer and Alzheimer’s, or launches a tariff war that’s raising costs for everyone. This is what he voted for, and it’s what he’ll bring to Massachusetts."

Shortsleeve has recently served on the boards of capital and software companies, the Massachusetts High Technology Council and the Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research, according to his LinkedIn. He is also listed as co-founder and managing director of M33 Growth, a venture and growth stage investment firm.

A central point in Shortsleeve's campaigning appears to be his identity as a Marine. His ad opens with war and defense visuals with a voiceover: "For nearly 250 years, when America faced its toughest moments, we called the Marines. First in, last out. We get the job done. No excuses. Now, Massachusetts needs a Marine."

Kennealy, a former Baker housing and economic development secretary and private equity manager, announced his candidacy in April. Meanwhile, the Herald reported Sunday that Republican state Sen. Peter Durant, who had been weighing a possible run for governor, has decided against a 2026 campaign.

Healey has said she plans to seek reelection next year. Asked about Shortsleeve's announcement by WBUR Monday, Healey demurred.

"Looks like there'll be a Republican primary," she said. "So we'll wait and see how that goes."

With reporting from WBUR's newsroom.