The Massachusetts Democratic Party is slamming the three Republican gubernatorial candidates for what they call “hypocrisy” regarding criticism of Gov. Maura Healey and her changing position on if she stopped two natural gas pipelines as attorney general.

In a scathing statement sent exclusively to the Boston Herald, MassDems Chair Steve Kerrigan highlighted a 2016 letter to stop the pipeline projects — signed by multiple Republican state lawmakers, as well as a handful of endorsers of all three GOP gubernatorial campaigns.

“The Republican candidates for Governor love to twist Governor Healey’s record of advocating for an all-of-the-above approach to increase energy supply and lower costs,” Kerrigan said. “So Mike Minogue, Brian Shortsleeve and Mike Kennealy need to answer to the facts. Do they agree with their Republican endorsers who took the exact same position as Maura Healey standing up for ratepayers against corporate pipeline developers?

“Do they agree with their Republican colleagues that corporate developers should have to foot the bill to build the pipelines they profit from, not ratepayers?” the MassDems chair added.

Gov. Maura Healey said she stopped the pipeline projects because it was a “lousy deal” for ratepayers. (Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)

MassDems said the 2016 letter was signed by one endorser each of the Kennealy and Minogue campaigns, along with endorsers of the Shortsleeve campaign.

For the Kennealy campaign, MassDems named endorser and Republican state Rep. Kim Ferguson as one of the signers of the 2016 letter.

Geoff Diehl, a recently announced endorser of the Minogue campaign and former GOP candidate for Senate and governor, also signed the letter.

Shortsleeve endorsers — including Republican state Rep. Marc Lombardo, former GOP state Rep. and current Taunton Mayor Shaunna O’Connell, and former Republican state Rep. Kate Campanale and her husband, Republican state Sen. Peter Durant — all signed the letter as well.

Kerrigan went on to defend then-AG Healey’s decision, using the same explanation provided by the governor’s office that she stopped a “lousy deal” for ratepayers.

“The truth is that, as Attorney General, Maura Healey stood up for the ratepayers by preventing corporate developers from passing down the costs of building new pipelines onto them. This position was echoed by a bipartisan group of legislators, including many of the Republican candidates’ strongest supporters,” Kerrigan said.

The April 2016 letter — sent to then-House Speaker Robert DeLeo — was led by Republican state Rep. Bradley Jones, now the House Minority Leader, and Democratic state Rep. Stephen Kulik.

“The proposals to pay for the $5-8 billion cost for new pipelines by assessing a surcharge, tariff or tax on electricity customers are unprecedented. Ordinarily, the natural gas producers would be expected to pay for this infrastructure expansion, if the expected revenue from natural gas sales would justify the cost,” the letter said.

“We look forward to working with you to support legislation that will create a diversified energy portfolio for our state, and reduce our over-reliance on natural gas. Substantial new pipeline infrastructure is inconsistent with our shared goals,” the letter added.

The three campaigns are firing back at Kerrigan, saying that Healey and MassDems are “gaslighting” voters.

“Maura Healey is gaslighting voters, but her record on energy costs is clear — she killed two pipelines that would have saved billions of dollars, she outlawed gas hookups to force homeowners to pay for more expensive energy sources, and she added billions to utility bills through state-mandated fees to support her radical climate agenda,” said Shortsleeve campaign strategist Holly Robichaud. “Brian Shortsleeve will put affordability first and reverse course on Healey’s punishing energy policy.”

Minogue campaign spokesperson Erin Maguire tells the Herald that the revelation of the 2016 letter by MassDems is an attempt by Healey’s office to “cover up for their failures that penalized Massachusetts,” adding that Minogue had no political involvement back when the letter was signed.

“Mike Minogue isn’t a politician. When Maura Healey was blocking energy infrastructure, Mike Minogue was running a business, creating jobs, and saving lives in Massachusetts. He entered this race because the same failed political class Healey represents has made life more expensive and left Massachusetts families struggling with some of the highest energy costs in the country,” Maguire said.

“This is an attempt by Healey’s team to cover up for their failures that penalized Massachusetts and not a serious conversation about helping families pay their bills. Voters want solutions and accountability, not excuses or political games from the politicians who created the problem in the first place,” she said.

As for the Kennealy campaign, communications director Logan Trupiano warned voters to not let themselves be distracted from Healey’s changing stance on the pipeline issue, also taking a shot at MassDems for pointing out the 2016 letter to begin with.

“Don’t be distracted from one simple fact: Maura Healey lied to the press and to the public just weeks ago when she claimed she didn’t block two energy pipelines. She has offered three different explanations for what she did. MassDems would be better off, asking her to clarify her position, then asking us,” Trupiano said. “Maura Healey has a climate agenda. Mike Kennealy has a plan to make energy bills affordable for all residents.”

The statement from MassDems comes after Healey again changed her stance on accepting responsibility for stopping the pipelines. In a one-on-one interview with NBC Boston over the weekend, the governor acknowledged that she stopped the pipeline projects, saying she did so because it was a “lousy deal” for ratepayers.

“They were a lousy deal for ratepayers and I’ve got to stand up for people in Massachusetts. I thought it was wrong for ratepayers, people, residents, taxpayers in Massachusetts to foot the bill for those pipelines, instead of the pipeline companies,” Healey told the network.

Last month, when asked if her stoppage of the pipelines has contributed to soaring energy prices in the Bay State, Healey deflected blame, saying, “Well, first of all, I didn’t do that,” before going on to place the blame on President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods.