U.S. Senate candidate John Deaton pays off $346k in MassGOP debt

John Deaton, a Republican from Bolton running for U.S. Senate, donated more than $346,000 to the Massachusetts Republican Party to pay off outstanding debts, just weeks after the party voted to give him a key endorsement in his campaign for elected office.

Deaton’s decision to clear away a large chunk of the MassGOP’s debt dramatically reverses the party’s fiscal standing at the start of an election year. In a letter to party members Monday, MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale said the contribution helped close a “dark chapter” in the party’s history.

“Fiscal disorder limited our ability to raise funds and fully deploy them in support of our candidates,” Carnevale said.

Deaton did not immediately respond to a request for comment. His donation was spread across multiple legal defense funds that the MassGOP created with campaign finance regulators.

Deaton, a lawyer and cryptocurrency advocate, is looking to unseat U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, who also is facing Democratic challenger U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton. Deaton had previously challenged U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and lost.

In an interview with WBUR, Carnevale said more than $273,000 of Deaton’s donation was used to pay off a legal settlement with Mittcom, a Needham company the party hired to provide marketing services in the run-up to the November 2022 elections.

Carnevale has previously said a “substantial portion” of Mittcom’s work supported the gubernatorial campaign of Geoff Diehl, a former state representative who lost that year’s election to Gov. Maura Healey.

Mittcom and the MassGOP agreed in 2024 to a $400,000 settlement in which the party would pay off the debt in monthly payments of $9,500. But Carnevale said in her Monday letter that because of Deaton’s lump-sum donation, Mittcom agreed to a 7.5% “discount.”

Carnevale said Deaton “helped arbitrate a successful outcome, bringing the Mittcom matter to a full and final resolution.”

“His persistence and legal expertise were critical to resolving obligations that had encumbered the Party for years. The final clearance of these debts would not have been possible without John, and the Party owes John a great deal of gratitude,” Carnevale said in her letter.

Deaton’s donation comes after members of the MassGOP voted in November to endorse his U.S. Senate candidacy, a move that gave him an edge over potential primary rivals by opening up lucrative fundraising opportunities with national conservatives.

Carnevale told WBUR that party officials and Deaton had “general talks” about ways he could “make the party stronger.” She said there were no discussions about financial support ahead of the endorsement.

“It was much more general about ways he could work with the party to have a stronger Republican Party here in Massachusetts,” she said.