Seth Moulton

With just over 10 weeks until the primary against US Senator Ed Markey, Moulton’s campaign has turned to a practice known as “red-boxing,” a wink-and-nod communication tactic campaigns use to legally get around rules barring coordination between campaigns and super PACs.

Moulton’s messaging plan is all laid out in a discreetly placed section of his campaign website, and framed in a tidy red box. And if the reader happens to work for a super PAC backing Moulton’s bid, who knows, that message could pop up in ads in the run-up to the Sept. 1 primary.

Anyone can access the page, though you’ll have to dig around to find it. Scroll past a section titled “Meet Seth Moulton,” his policy platform, a donation button, a section for news clips, and another highlighting the campaign’s social media platforms, and underneath directions for how to donate by mail, alllllll the way at the bottom on the webpage, there is a “media info” link — tucked right next to the campaign’s privacy policy — that has the game plan.

Moulton’s campaign wants messages targeting Democratic primary voters in the last six weeks of the election, letting them know about his stance to abolish ICE, his plans to “make life more affordable for working people,” and his views on President Trump’s foreign policy. A month out from election day, the campaign wants to convince unenrolled voters to know that Moulton is on a mission to “stop the gerontocracy in Washington,” and that it’s vital they pull a Democratic primary ballot.

The page also includes a link to an unlisted YouTube video stocked with silent B-roll footage of Moulton shaking hands with and greeting people at an anti-war rally, marching in a Pride parade, and working delegates at the state Democratic convention — ready-made material for any outside group looking to cut an ad.

A spokesperson for Moulton’s campaign pointed out that it “can’t control what our supporters do.”

“[We] hope that they stay focused on delivering a positive message about Seth and his progressive vision for Massachusetts and the country,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Red-boxing gets its name from the literal red boxes campaigns use to highlight information they hope outside groups will notice. It’s a practice that has become increasingly common among Democrats who also tend to spend a fair amount of time arguing that campaign finance laws need tightening. There aren’t any federal laws explicitly barring the practice, but groups like the Washington, D.C.-based watchdog Campaign Legal Center say it’s a no-no.

Unlike campaigns, where donors are limited in how much they can give a candidate, super PACs can raise and spend unlimited funds. Advance Progress, the super PAC backing Moulton, has spent nearly $1.5 million so far this year. Some of the largest donations came from David Peeler, a senior advisor at the Boston-based private equity firm Berkshire Partners, and Richard Wells, a director at the tech investment firm, Insight Partners, who each donated $250,000, records show.

A separate group, MA Progress Action, has also jumped into the race with ads that bear a striking resemblance to the PAC’s anti-Markey campaign messaging. Because the organization is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, it isn’t required to publicly disclose its donors — and technically has to serve a public purpose beyond politics, something campaign watchdogshave argued it isn’t doing.

THIS MEANS WAR: Mayor Michelle Wu has dominated elections in her own backyard, whether it’s herself or helping one of her allies on the ballot. Now she’s testing whether her political clout travels beyond city limits.

Wu on Monday formally endorsed Daniel Lander, her former aide, in his primary challenge against state Senator William Brownsberger, one of the key lawmakers who helped sink the mayor’s (several) attempts to pass tax legislation on Beacon Hill.

The move marks Wu’s second foray into a Democratic state Senate primary this cycle. Earlier this month, she endorsed Latoya Gayle, the child care advocate and community activist challenging longtime Wu rival, state Senator Nick Collins, for his South Boston/Dorchester-centered district.

Brownsberger may present a tougher test for Wu’s coattails. Unlike Collins, whose district is entirely within Boston, much of Brownsberger’s territory lies outside the city, stretching into communities like Cambridge, Watertown, and Belmont, where Wu’s political brand is less established.

Brownsberger, one of Senate President Karen Spilka’s top deputies, also has the backing of Governor Maura Healey. The governor notably stayed out of Wu’s reelection race last year, when she cruised to victory after her chief rival, Josh Kraft, ended his campaign soon after the September preliminary election. Lander, meanwhile, nabbed an endorsement from US Senator Elizabeth Warren last week. (He worked on Warren’s 2020 presidential campaign.)

More on the endorsement from the Globe’s Samantha J. Gross.

RHODE BLOCK: R.I. Democratic Committee issues no endorsement for governor, lieutenant governor, or attorney general by Edward Fitzpatrick, The Boston Globe: In an unusual move, the Rhode Island Democratic State Committee issued no endorsement for incumbent Governor Daniel J. McKee and incumbent Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos, who each failed to get enough votes to secure the committee’s endorsement on Saturday. The lack of an endorsement is the latest setback for McKee, who has been trailing former CVS executive Helena Buonanno Foulkes in the polls and in fundraising. Party officials said they could not recall the last time the committee did not endorse an incumbent Democratic governor.

ENG LATEST: Healey says she ‘absolutely’ has confidence in Phil Eng’s leadership by Chris Van Buskirk, The Boston Globe: Healey said Saturday that she supports her interim secretary of transportation, Phil Eng, after revelations that he had pulled an employee’s hair nearly two years ago. When asked by a Globe reporter if she had confidence in Eng’s leadership, she said, “Absolutely.” She did not take additional questions. A MBTA spokesperson previously described the hair-pulling incident involving an employee as an “insensitive interaction” that occurred while saying goodbye after an agency team dinner.

Eng, also the general manager of the MBTA, said earlier this week that the dinner in November 2024 was a “team-building exercise at a restaurant” with the MBTA’s executive team and their spouses. “The incident that happened two years ago is something that I’ve apologized for,” he said Friday. “I understand now, in hindsight, that it was insensitive.”

IN HIS DEFENSE: Frustrated by coverage of the Legislature’s ongoing audit battle, House Speaker Ron Mariano is firing back. In a CommonWealth Beacon op-ed on Sunday, Mariano accused state Auditor Diana DiZoglio of being driven by “political ambition and personal grievances” and pushed back on media coverage he argues has skewed public understanding of the fight. Read the full op-ed.

EMAIL CHAIN REACTION: How the ballot question to cut Massachusetts’ income tax fell apart over email by Chris Van Buskirk, The Boston Globe: In emails last August, a top lawyer in Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office traded proposed wording for a summary of a ballot question to cut Massachusetts’ state income tax with an attorney representing the authors of the proposal. At Assistant Attorney General Grace Gohlke’s invitation, Kevin Martin, a Goodwin Procter attorney, suggested language that did not mention an indirect but critical outcome of the ballot question: that it would also slash the tax rate on long-term capital gains. The omission ultimately spelled the end of the tax cut proposal.

Related: The Globe’s Jon Chesto and Shirley Leung broke down who won and who lost in the abbreviated tax cut ballot battle.

Senate proposal would criminalize sexual misconduct between teachers, students by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald.

Keeping Boston clean during the World Cup has been a total team effort by Emily Spatz and Jaden Perry, The Boston Globe.

Mattapan community horrified, devastated after fatal crash by Allyson Chiu and Audrey Tomlin, The Boston Globe.

Brockton Mayor Moises Rodrigues to appear in court for hearing on harassment prevention order by Chris Helms, The Brockton Enterprise.

New hearing scheduled for contentious battery storage project in Hadley by Scott Merzbach Daily Hampshire Gazette.

Lawrence City Council OKs budget, Mayor Brian DePena cuts jobs by Jill Harmacinski, The Eagle-Tribune.

CORRECTION: Friday’s edition of “The Scrum” inaccurately described a conference US Senator Ed Markey was speaking and fundraising at over the weekend. It was a gathering of independent pharmacies. The Globe regrets the error.

Thanks for reading The Scrum.

This newsletter was edited and produced by Matt Stout.

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