The Massachusetts Democratic Party slammed Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Kennealy Monday and immediately linked the former Baker administration official to President Donald Trump and other national conservatives.

The early messaging, released the same day Kennealy announced plans to challenge Gov. Maura Healey, gives clear insight into Democrats’ playbook for the 2026 gubernatorial election — tie any conservative opponent to Trump and the “Make America Great Again” movement.

In a video released to social media, a narrator alleged that Kennealy “helped bankroll Mitch McConnell and national Republican super PACs that stabbed the courts and took away reproductive freedoms.”

“Kennealy will bring Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s agenda to Massachusetts, an agenda of chaos and chainsaws,” the narrator said while dramatic music played in the background and footage of Musk and Trump rolled alongside pictures of Kennealy.

A campaign advisor for Kennealy’s campaign did not respond to a Herald inquiry, and Healey’s campaign referred questions to a statement from the Massachusetts Democratic Party where its leader, Steve Kerrigan, described Kennealy as the “biggest threat to Massachusetts.”

Federal campaign finance records show Kennealy has donated tens of thousands since at least 2012 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which works to elect Republicans to the U.S. Senate and is currently chaired by Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina.

In an email to supporters later in the day, the Massachusetts Democratic Party also took a shot at Kennealy’s eight years working in former Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration as an assistant secretary and then housing and economic development secretary.

“He failed to prevent skyrocketing housing costs and failed to cut taxes for hardworking Bay Staters — while Gov. Healey passed tax cuts in her first year in office,” the email said, referring to a package of tax cuts that were first drafted by the Baker administration. “Mike Kennealy is unqualified to address the biggest issues facing Massachusetts. In fact, when he announced his candidacy, he never mentioned the single greatest threat to our state — Donald Trump.”

Kennealy did not discuss Trump in his several-minute-long campaign launch video or in a press release sent Monday morning. But at a February event hosted by the Sandwich Republican Town Committee, he was asked whether he would support Trump.

“I will work with Donald Trump as governor to advance our interests here in Massachusetts. I am not being anti the president, he is the president,” he said before adding that he blanked the top of the presidential ticket, a response that drew groans from attendees.

During the 2020 presidential election, Baker said he blanked the top of the ticket when Trump was running against Joe Biden. The former governor also left the ballot blank when Trump ran against Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Kennealy is also likely to face opposition from within the local Republican party.

Sen. Peter Durant of Spencer, venture capitalist and former MBTA official Brian Shortsleeve, and local GOP donor Michael Minogue are weighing separate runs for governor.

Durant said “it is great to see so many Republicans wanting to defeat Gov. Healey.”

“It is going to be a spirited primary season,” he said in a statement to the Herald.

Healey, the first woman and openly gay candidate elected to the Governor’s Office, said earlier this year that she plans to run for a second term.

In a radio interview, she said she is “really proud” of her record so far.

“I plan to run for reelection because there’s a lot more to do. I love my job. I feel incredibly privileged to be in this position, and I’d love to have the opportunity to continue to work for the great people of this state,” she said.

Gubernatorial candidate Mike Kennealy (Herald file)