Republican U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton endorses Brian Shortsleeve in Massachusetts gubernatorial race

Tim Dunn, Boston Herald on Apr 6, 2026

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BOSTON — U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) has announced his endorsement of Republican Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate Brian Shortsleeve as the 2026 election, as well as the April MassGOP convention, draw closer.

“Brian and I may have a friendly rivalry between the Army and the Marines, but there’s no question about this: Brian Shortsleeve is a warrior for conservative values,” said Cotton, a former Army officer. “He served our country as a Marine officer with honor, and he brought that same discipline and mission focus to building businesses and reforming the state government. Massachusetts needs that kind of leadership in the corner office.”

Cotton was first elected in 2013 to the House of Representatives, serving one term before being elected to the Senate in 2015. Currently, Cotton serves as the Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee as well as the Senate Republican Conference. He was on the short list of President Trump’s potential Supreme Court nominees in 2020, until Trump ultimately went with Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

Shortsleeve welcomed Cotton’s endorsement, calling it a “tremendous honor” while also highlighting the lessons in leadership he says the two gained during their service in the military.

“It is a tremendous honor to have the support of Senator Tom Cotton, one of America’s leading conservative reformers. We both learned in uniform that leadership means putting the mission first and never backing down from a tough fight. I’m proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with Tom in the fight for common sense,” Shortsleeve said in a statement.

“As governor, I will bring that same mission mindset to Beacon Hill. We will finally put Massachusetts families first by auditing state government, reining in runaway spending and restoring affordability by lowering taxes and eliminating costly utility fees,” he said.

Cotton says Shortsleeve has a long record as a “principled conservative,” pointing to Shortsleeve’s promise to provide “fiscal discipline” on Beacon Hill, if elected.

“Brian is a consistent, lifelong conservative who knows how to grow an economy and create jobs through fiscal discipline, low taxes, individual freedom, accountability, and the rule of law,” said Cotton. “I hope Massachusetts Republicans will unite behind Brian Shortsleeve and send a Marine to fix what Beacon Hill politicians have broken.”

The endorsement from Cotton adds to quite a busy past few weeks for the Shortsleeve campaign. Less than two weeks ago, Shortsleeve announced that he’s selected New Bedford City Councilor Shawn Oliver as his Lt. Gov. candidate.

In a notable change in party affiliation, Oliver became the first of two New Bedford city councilors to switch his registration to Republican, joining the GOP in August after initially being unenrolled. Fellow City Councilor Leo Choquette followed Oliver just months later, leaving the Democrat Party and switching his registration to Republican back in December.

Shortsleeve has also collected nearly 50 endorsements from several Republican leaders in Massachusetts, from the State House to MassGOP and various cities and towns across the Commonwealth.

Shortsleeve will face off against fellow Republican candidates Mike Kennealy and Mike Minogue in the September primary election.

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