Combat veteran turned CEO has a new mission: Flip governor's office in blue state

FIRST ON FOX - When reflecting on his career, Mike Minogue highlights that he's gone from "soldier to CEO."

Now, the Republican combat veteran and business executive has a new mission as he declares his candidacy for governor in deep blue Massachusetts, where Democratic Gov. Maura Healey is running for re-election next year.

In a campaign launch video first shared with Fox News on Wednesday, Minogue said that "working people have been left behind" and that Massachusetts' "current one-party system isn't working. What we need is a new kind of public servant."

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"I’m running to be a new kind of governor, one with the faith, the heart, and the grit to serve," Minogue announced.

Minogue is a West Point graduate and Airborne Ranger who was awarded a Bronze Star during his service in Operation Desert Storm in the 1991 Gulf War.

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He noted that his military career "carried me home to Massachusetts, where I became the CEO of Abiomed for 19 years, a public company that built the world’s smallest heart pumps."

And the husband and father of five emphasized, "I've spent my life running towards problems and fixing them, to make a big difference."

According to a release from his campaign, Minogue's agenda is focused "on restoring affordability, accountability, and opportunity in Massachusetts. His focus includes lowering taxes, so families can keep more of their paycheck, growing the economy by retaining and recruiting businesses, and investing in education while giving parents more options for their students’ success."

Minogue becomes the third major Republican candidate in the race, following former Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Mike Kennealy and Brian Shortsleeve, former chief administrator and acting general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

In the Democratic Party nomination race, Healey is facing a long-shot primary challenge from criminal justice advocate Andrea James.

While Democrats dominate federal elections and state legislative contests in Massachusetts, Republicans have had plenty of success in gubernatorial showdowns.

Before Healey's victory in 2022, Republicans had won six of the eight previous elections for governor in the Bay State.

Anti-Defamation League retires glossary of extremist groups after backlash for including Charlie Kirk's TPUSA

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) removed its entire "Glossary of Extremism and Hate" on Tuesday after receiving backlash, including from Elon Musk and Republican lawmakers, for listing Turning Point USA (TPUSA) as an extremist group.

The outrage comes nearly three weeks after TPUSA co-founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated at Utah Valley University while speaking with a crowd on campus.

TPUSA's backgrounder page on the ADL website falls under the "Center of Extremism" tag and describes the conservative group as having ties to "a range of right-wing extremists and has generated support from anti-Muslim bigots, alt-lite activists and some corners of the white supremacist alt-right."

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The ADL also listed dozens of controversial statements tied to TPUSA members or event speakers dating as far back as 2015, and wrote that Kirk used the movement to promote "Christian nationalism."

In response to the listing, Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote on X on Sunday that the "ADL hates Christians," which makes it a "hate group."

He continued in a separate post, "Using such false and defamatory labels about people and organizations encourages murder."

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., chimed in on Monday with criticism of the ADL, writing, "'America First' is not hate speech. Turning Point USA is not a hate group." She also tagged the ADL's account on X.

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When announcing the decision to retire its "Glossary of Extremism and Hate" – effectively immediately – the ADL said, they are always "looking for how we can and should do things better."

The glossary had more than 1,000 entries and had been built up over multiple years at the time it was removed. The ADL said a number of entries were "outdated" but did not share which ones those were.

"This will allow ADL to explore new strategies and creative approaches to deliver our data and present our research more effectively. It will keep us focused on ensuring we do what we do best: fighting antisemitism and hate in the most impactful ways possible," the group wrote on X, in part.

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The glossary included groups like the Nation of Islam, the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, and others. It also included TPUSA and the "America First" movement, while leaving out controversial groups like Antifa and Black Lives Matter.

"Being included in this database does not mean that individuals or groups are engaging in illegal or violent conduct, but rather that in ADL’s judgment the views as exemplified by the statements made in support of those views can be considered extreme," the glossary's homepage states.

Fox News Digital reached out to the ADL for comment, but did not hear back by time of publication.

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