Candidates pack schedules for final pre-election push

With less than 24 hours until polls open, candidates are fanning out across eastern Massachusetts on Monday to make their closing arguments and to drum up support for other members of their party.

The two candidates for governor, especially, are focusing their efforts on eastern Massachusetts on Monday -- neither Charlie Baker nor Jay Gonzalez will travel further west than Lowell the day before the statewide election, according to their official schedules.

Baker began his day at Lowell's Owl Diner with Democrat Rep. David Nangle and Mayor Bill Samaras. Next, he heads to the Lowell Senior Center to greet voters After a long gap in public campaigning on his schedule Monday afternoon, Baker ends his day with a 6:30 p.m. rally in his hometown Swampscott.

Gonzalez, the Democrat hoping to unseat Baker, began his day on the MBTA, the failures of which he has forced to the forefront of the campaign for governor. After greeting voters at Newton's Riverside Station at 7:45 a.m., Gonzalez hopped on the Green Line and rode it to Park Street Station, where he then poured coffee for other MBTA commuters.

In addition to launching canvasses in Cambridge, Waltham and Salem, and meeting voters at a Somerville cafe, Gonzalez will also get some help from other prominent Democrats on Monday.

At noon, he will greet voters in Malden Center with U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark, who also faces an opponent on Tuesday. At 1:30 p.m. in Lynn, Gonzalez will join forces with U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton and Auditor Suzanne Bump to launch a canvass for all four candidates. Monday at 5:30 p.m., Gonzalez will team up with Attorney General Maura Healey and congressional candidate Ayanna Pressley for a pre-Election Day rally in Roxbury.

Pressley put in a good word for Democrats in a "knocking the vote" video tweet Sunday night in which she introduced herself as "AP," teasing Monday night's event and saying she looked forward to Democrats winning on Tuesday, from "Senator Warren, Jay Gonzalez, all the way down."

Geoff Diehl, the Republican state rep who is challenging Warren for her seat in the U.S. Senate, is planning a series of radio appearances Monday and shook hands with voters outside South Station early Monday. After campaign stops in Quincy and Stoneham, Diehl is planning a rally at 6 p.m. in Abington.

In addition to linking up with Gonzalez for part of the day Monday, Warren will also launch her own canvass in Lowell at 4:15 p.m. and then headline a rally in Hudson to support Lori Trahan, the Democratic nominee to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas, who will also attend the Hudson rally.


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