If Massachusetts Republicans won’t do it, the Democrats will.

And that is to make President Donald Trump a major issue in the upcoming 2026 campaign for governor.

It is an issue, especially for the two or three Republicans running for the right to challenge Democrat Gov. Maura Healey. It could make or break them.

But it is an issue they do not want to discuss, even as the Massachusetts Democratic State Committee is trying to tie Trump around their necks.

The two Republicans who have already announced their candidacies are Mike Kennealy, a former cabinet member if the Charlie Baker administration, and Brian Shortsleeve, a former MBTA official under former Gov. Charlie Baker.

Both appear to be Baker-like when it comes to Donald Trump. That is to keep Trump at arm’s length, even though he is the president and leader of the Republican Party.

A third possible candidate, who has yet to announce, is Michael Minogue, the former CEO of a successful medical technology company and a longtime Republican campaign donor, including donations to Baker.

Kennealy said he did not vote for Trump. He said he blanked Trump in past elections but would work with Trump if he is elected governor.

Shortsleeve, without much enthusiasm, said he “voted the Republican ticket” last year but added that his focus would be on Massachusetts, not Washington.

“I think there’s a lot we can do in this state ourselves to get this state moving again,” he said.

Minogue, who has yet to announce, appears closer to Trump and the Trump agenda than do the other two.

While he has made campaign donations to Democrat PACs, like those headed by Reps. Seth Moulton and Jake Auchincloss — both veterans, as is Minogue — Minogue hosted a fundraiser for the Trump/Vance ticket at his Gloucester home attended by JD Vance.

While all three have a connection to Baker, the Republican who Democrats loved, it is unlikely that Baker will endorse anyone.

Baker, now president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, is out of the political picture anyway. He is the past.

The president that the three will have to cope with is Donald Trump, who is the elephant in the room. You ignore him at your peril

He is the only thing the Massachusetts Republican Party has going for it, and to ignore him guarantees certain defeat, no matter who the Republican nominee is.

The Republican Party in Massachusetts is like the Democratic Party nationally — divided, lost and leaderless. It holds no statewide offices from the governor on down, no U.S. Senate seat and none of the nine U.S. House seats. It is also an embarrassingly irrelevant minority in both the state House and Senate.

With Trump’s support, there is a chance, slim that it is, a Republican could unseat Healey, whose life is wrapped up in anti-Trumpism.

While it is true that Trump is unpopular in liberal Massachusetts. But at the rate he is racking up accomplishments like shutting down the border, ridding the country of illegal immigrant criminals and opening up peace talks around the world– to name only a few of his accomplishments, things may look different in 2026.

And while the Republican candidates so far have been wishy washy in dealing with Trump, the Democrats will force the issue on them.

Democrat Party Chair Steve Kerrigan referred to Shortsleeve as “another member of the Trump crowd” who “can’t run from his ties to Trump.”

The Democrat Party released a video saying that Kennealy “will bring Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s agenda to Massachusetts” and that “a vote for Kennealy is a vote for Donald Trump’s agenda.”

Some might argue that Donald Trump’s agenda is exactly what Massachusetts needs.

It might also need a Republican gubernatorial candidate who agrees. If he wants Trump’s support and a chance to win, that is.

Veteran political reporter Peter Lucas can be reached at: peter.lucas@bostonherald.com

Candidate for Governor Mike Kennealy (Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)

Brian Shortsleeve, a GOP candidate for governor. (Libby O’Neill/Boston Herald)