Something is happening in Massachusetts. Customers wear MAGA hats in Costco and supermarkets. Locals aren’t afraid to discuss Donald Trump positively without lowering their voices in public. Suburban homeowners proudly hoist American flags and Bostonians have ditched facemasks. Emboldened by a national wave of conservatism and the ushering in of President Trump, the commonwealth may be ready for a Republican moment — but will the MassGOP strike while the iron is hot?

It is easy to be doubtful. Despite pockets full of conservatives in Massachusetts, the state GOP has failed to make significant gains. The Democratic Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and both chambers of the state legislature in Massachusetts.

GOPers in the Commonwealth would be wise to look to their neighbors to the north for lessons on how to turn their state from deep blue to at least purple-ish.

Last November New Hampshire Republicans won big. The state GOP significantly strengthened its majority in the State House and Senate and maintained control over the governorship. The wins were not simply a byproduct of voters showing up at the polls for Trump — Republicans, including Trump, lost the federal races in New Hampshire’s November elections.

New Hampshire turned more red despite changing demographics and enormous numbers of Massachusetts migrants moving north.

According to Chris Ager, the New Hampshire Republican Party chairman widely credited for the November electoral achievements, the party’s success comes down to three main factors: party cohesion, focus, and targeted branding.

Massachusetts Republicans often spend more time fighting with each other than fighting Democrats. Former Governor Charlie Baker, a moderate anti-Trump Republican, had a long-running feud with the then-state GOP Chair Jim Lyons, a conservative Trump loyalist. The infighting between the two factions was so disruptive that it left the MassGOP in debt and in such shambles that its members could barely conduct a functional state committee meeting. In 2023 Lyons lost his position to Amy Carnevale, a Trump supporter who appears to understand that the party must welcome all Republicans to build its tent.

Meanwhile, New Hampshire Republicans unite against a common enemy to win elections. During his tenure as GOP chairman, Ager was careful to keep fighting amongst Republican factions under the surface; once a decision on any issue was reached in private, the party put on a united front in public. To maintain solidarity within the group, Ager even banned labels like “RINO,” “right-wing extremist,” and “libertarian” in his meetings. Everyone in the room has something in common: They are Republicans.

The MassGOP must also decide where to focus its firepower.

Massachusetts is a deep blue state, and that’s not changing anytime soon. It makes no sense for Republicans to sink time or money into winning seats in left-leaning districts, federal Senate or congressional seats, or mayoral races in liberal cities. The party needs to be realistic about what it can achieve, and focus resources on elections that can be won. That likely means enacting a multi-year plan to pick up a few targeted State Senate or House seats. President Trump received more than 55% of the vote in 26 Massachusetts towns — yet many of these places are not represented by Republicans in the State Legislature.

In New Hampshire, the GOP makes tough decisions about where attention and resources are spent. In 2023, Ager’s team devised a four-year plan that outlined specific goals — one of which was to secure the State House in 2024. Party leaders were not surprised in November when Republicans claimed big State House wins while Democrats won the federal races. Had the GOP been over-ambitious and diluted its resources to win both state and federal races in one cycle, the effort likely would have backfired. Now that the State House rests firmly in Republican hands, Ager’s successor Jim MacEachern can focus on winning a federal seat in the next cycle.

Ager also zeroed in on one mayoral race in an urban area, Manchester, in 2023. After the New Hampshire GOP invested more money in the Manchester mayoral race than any other mayoral race in the state, Republican Jay Ruais won by less than 400 votes. This was a significant victory after six years of Democratic Mayor Joyce Craig, who allowed crime and homelessness to spiral out of control in Manchester.

Finally, there’s branding. When a Bay Stater thinks about the MassGOP, what words come to mind?  Perhaps “disorganized” or “losing.” It is time for Massachusetts Republicans to define themselves — and their opponents — through campaign tactics, media prowess, and electoral wins. Leadership would be wise to take stock of Trump’s popularity in the state, and incorporate specific issues or stylistic tactics that poll well with Massachusetts Republican voters. This might mean focusing on fiscal issues while largely staying away from polarizing topics like abortion.

New Hampshire voters can describe exactly what the GOP in their state stands for: low taxes, local control, individual responsibility, and efficient government. This is not an accident. Party leadership understands that New Hampshire Republicans are different than federal Republicans — so while the New Hampshire GOP fits under the national GOP tent, it has branded itself to fit its own electorate. Ager and his colleagues chose to focus on the issues that have broad, general support among working voters who are most concerned about kitchen table issues.

There has never been a better time for the MassGOP to recalibrate. There are signs of Republican momentum — Massachusetts was the second-largest gain in vote share for President Trump in November, only after Florida. Meanwhile, top Democrats in the state continue to advocate for unpopular measures like replacing cops with social workers, giving drivers licenses to illegal immigrants, and ignoring ICE detainers that would expel dangerous migrants.

Nobody expects Massachusetts to turn deep red in the next four years, but it is fair to expect that against the background of Trump’s red wave the state’s Republican Party can pick up a few more wins in 2026.

New Hampshire provides the roadmap for the MassGOP to get the job done.

Kristin Tate is a political columnist and author based in Massachusetts. Her latest book is “The Liberal Invasion of Red State America.” Follow her on X @KristinBTate.