John Deaton beats Ian Cain and Bob Antonellis in straw poll ahead of Senate primary

DEDHAM ‒ With less than a month until the Republican primary, John Deaton scored a landslide victory over Quincy City Councilman Ian Cain and Bob Antonellis at Tuesday night’s forum and straw poll hosted by the Norfolk County Republican Committee. All three Massachusetts Republicans are vying to challenge two-term Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren in November.

The candidates answered questions submitted by an audience of more than 200 Republicans and independents who attended in person and online.

Deaton received 77% of the vote, Cain came in second with 13% and Antonellis came in last with 10%.

After the results were announced, Cain congratulated Deaton but expressed confidence in his own candidacy in the future.

“We will show Republicans on September 3 that we have the best chance of defeating Elizabeth Warren,” Cain said.

Shared positions and a common enemy in Elizabeth Warren

The candidates largely agreed on the issues that Republican voters care most about. All three advocated clamping down on the southern border, banning asylum seekers, cutting taxes, deregulating businesses (including the fossil fuel industry) and banning transgender women and girls from participating in women’s sports.

All three also expressed deep antipathy for Warren, who was variously described as someone who destroyed the American dream (Deaton), incited violence (Cain) and destroyed Congress (Antonellis).

On Wednesday morning, Antonellis said he had received positive feedback about his “pro-America, pro-Massachusetts, pro-Trump perspective.” He attributed Deaton’s victory to “endless money.”

“(Deaton) spent a lot of money to get a strong turnout in the debate, which paid off,” he said.

John Deaton

Deaton, who recently purchased a home in Bolton, came forward describing his upbringing in the violent and impoverished Highland Park ghetto in Detroit, Michigan, where he said he saw a robber stab his mother and have a .38-caliber pistol shoved into his mouth on his first day of high school.

Deaton said he broke the cycle of intergenerational poverty by working hard to put himself through a private high school, college and eventually New England Law School. He joined the Marines and spent seven years as a special assistant U.S. attorney in Yuma, Arizona, where he said he fought cartels that moved drugs across the border in the 1990s.

He said he spent the past 22 years representing workers across Massachusetts in legal fights against “corporations and insurance companies.”

Deaton said that if elected, a simple, nonpartisan test will guide his decisions in the Senate.

“Is it good for the country and good for Massachusetts?” Deaton repeated throughout the night, saying that any proposal, whether put forward by Democrats or Republicans, would get his approval as long as it met those criteria.

Ian Cain

A five-term Quincy City Councilman, Cain described himself as the “only Massachusetts native in this entire race.” He recounted his personal story, including his involvement in Quincy politics, starting a small business and leading innovation through his nonprofit technology incubator, Qubic Labs.

Cain noted that “illegal immigration” is the most significant problem and that Massachusetts has effectively become a “border state” through what he described as “sanctuary” policies.

Cain said the migration crisis has become a “physical and financial burden” for residents.

“The first thing I would do is make sure that we pass legislation that prevents states from calling themselves sanctuary states,” he said.

Bob Antonellis

Wearing a Trump baseball cap and the former president’s signature red tie, Antonellis distinguished himself as the 45th president’s most ardent supporter.

“I am the only candidate on stage who supports Donald Trump and the America First agenda,” he said in his opening remarks.

Antonellis also distinguished himself from his opponents by his declared inclination towards conspiracy theories, comparing himself to “the most famous conspiracy theorist: Sherlock Holmes”.

On January 6, 2021, according to Antonellis, Nancy Pelosi, and Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser closed all restaurants, including their bathrooms, in the vicinity of the Capitol, prompting protesters needing to relieve themselves to head to the Capitol at the invitation of police and FBI agents, creating the impression of an invasion.

This paved the way, Antonellis said, for the criminal prosecution of hundreds of innocent Trump supporters.

Antonellis speculates that transgender rights advocates have conspired with Muslim Sharia practitioners as part of a millennia-long war against Western civilization. Antonellis said both groups devalue women, whom she described as the “glue” and “connective tissue” that holds society together.

Deaton responds to Cain campaign attacks

Cain has claimed that the biographical information contained in Deaton’s memoir, “Food Stamp Warrior,” is morally shocking and disqualifies him from holding elected office.

In a campaign email, Cain said Deaton admits to womanizing, using drugs, frequently using the word “n” and possibly murdering someone.

In response, Deaton’s communications director Claire Hardwick said Deaton’s book is a “revealing memoir” that details a life escaping extreme poverty and violence and then serving the country as a U.S. Marine, representing workers suffering from mesothelioma and taking on the government and winning.

In response to Cain’s questions about where he lives, Deaton’s campaign says he recently purchased a home in Bolton.

Deaton said that for the past 22 years, as a licensed attorney, he has represented working-class families throughout Massachusetts.

“I put my Massachusetts credentials on the line against anybody,” he said. “For over two decades, whether it’s the Cape Power Plants, … clients in Southampton, Pittsfield, Fall River, Barnstable, New Bedford… for 22 years I’ve been talking to working families, representing them against corporations and insurance companies.”

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Peter Blandino covers Quincy for The Patriot Ledger. Contact him at [email protected].

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Senate hopefuls Cain, Deaton and Antonellis face off in debate and straw poll