Former U.S. Marine, cryptocurrency lawyer, announces campaign against Senator Warren

• Sam Drysdale

FEB. 20, 2024…..BOSTON – Competing in what’s often thought of as a blue state, the Massachusetts Republican Party has gained some momentum with local and state election wins recently. But with a challenger up against an incumbent progressive U.S. senator, even the GOP chair may think there’s a limit to the party’s new-found momentum.

“Elizabeth Warren has a war chest. It’s a presidential election year, which tends to be a little bit more difficult for Republicans to run in Massachusetts,” Republican Party Chair Amy Carnevale said during a weekend appearance on “@Issue” on NBC Boston.

Cryptocurrency lawyer John Deaton launched his campaign Tuesday against U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren as she seeks a third term. Warren is one of the most vocal advocates in D.C. for greater regulation of the cryptocurrency industry — meanwhile, Deaton’s “CryptoLaw” blog warns against “gross government overreach” of the nascent tech industry.

Though he has advocated for cryptocurrency, his first campaign video makes no mention of it, instead focusing on his upbringing in poverty and promises to “take on Washington corruption,” and address inflation and the migrant crisis.

“We need term limits for these career politicians who have simply forgotten who elected them. Elizabeth Warren, well she promised to be a champion to those in need. Instead, she gives lectures and plays politics and gets nothing done for Massachusetts,” Deaton says in the ad.

Asked about a Republican challenger to Warren’s seat in Congress, Carnevale said she believes Deaton “will present a strong candidacy.” At the time of the interview, Deaton had not yet officially launched his campaign.

Deaton moved to Massachusetts last month to pursue his run against the senator and lives in Swansea.

NBC Boston journalist Sue O’Connell asked Carnevale on “@Issue” why the Republican Party is supporting someone who came from out of state to run for one of Massachusetts’ Senate seats.

“Were there no other Republicans who were ready to take on Elizabeth Warren?” she asked.

Carnevale responded that Deaton approached the party, not the other way around.

“Frankly, he came to us and said he has a passion for running for office, and he wants to compete and present his vision,” Carnevale said. “And he thinks his background really will resonate with voters here. And he does have some background in Massachusetts too, so it’s not as if he’s brand new to the state.”

Deaton attended New England School of Law, according to the biography on his law firm’s webpage. His campaign says he lived in Roxbury while attending law school and worked as a server at Legal Seafoods.

Carnevale also said Deaton had an interesting background that she believed could appeal to voters.

The Republican candidate grew up in Detroit “in one of the worst neighborhoods in America,” he said, before becoming a U.S. Marine, attorney and father to three daughters, including one who is a senior at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

“My mom, my hero. A single mom on welfare, food stamps, worked as many jobs as she could just to put food on the table. Most of the time it was just beans and cornbread. She did her best,” Deaton says in his campaign video. “They called me white trash, but I made it out. It wasn’t easy. I was the only one in my family to graduate high school. I worked my way through college and New England School of Law living in Roxbury. I joined the Marines, fought addiction, cancer, and mountains of debt.”

In her interview on the Sunday show, Carnevale said she is working to get more wins for Republicans by presenting a unified message of kitchen table issues that voters can agree on. She also spoke about appealing to a younger generation of voters.

“As they think about coming out of college, paying those college loans, holding down a job and just being able to afford to live in must continue to live in Massachusetts, that’s a big issue for them,” she said. “We do hear that climate is an issue, too, that they want to see that our candidates are in sync with them on those issues. But it for me, it’s talking to them and just really, really welcoming them into the party, which is something that I don’t think they they often hear from on the Republican side.”

Warren’s campaign staff did not immediately respond to an inquiry Tuesday about Deaton’s announcement.