The Massachusetts Republican Party, now in the hands of Trump supporters, may have abandoned GOP Gov. Charlie Baker, but Baker has not abandoned Republicans — at least not yet.
And if Baker runs for a third term in 2022, as he might, he will run as a Republican, despite the possibility that he could face opposition from a Trump conservative at a Republican convention and in a GOP primary.
Baker’s reply: Bring it on.
While control of the GOP is conservative, mutinous and critical of him, Baker, a lifelong moderate Republican who governs like a Democrat, has no plans of deserting the party and running as an Independent.
If he did the race would develop into a three-candidate contest, with the governor facing off against a Democrat as well as a Republican.
Baker lost control of the Massachusetts Republican State Committee, which is the official apparatus of the GOP, in 2019 when conservative former Rep. Jim Lyons of Andover, a President Trump supporter, was elected chairman over a Baker-supported candidate.
Baker, of course, has been a longtime critic of fellow Republican Trump. Baker did not vote for Trump in 2016 or in the Republican presidential primary and will not vote for him in 2020.
Lyons, since the takeover, has not only moved the party away from Baker, but has been critical of him, most recently over Baker’s slow approach to allowing businesses and restaurants to reopen, as well as his handling of the fallout from the George Floyd demonstrations and looting.
In a letter to Baker signed by hundreds of Republicans, Lyons urged Baker to “resist Democrat demands to shutter the state.” Sounding like Trump, Lyons said, “We write to you today to urge you to push back, publicly, on the Democrat demands to keep Massachusetts shuttered.”
Baker did not respond.
There also is talk of coming up with a right-wing pro-Trump candidate to challenge Baker in the 2022 primary, which in liberal Massachusetts can only be described as a kamikaze mission.
While there are pockets of support for Trump in Massachusetts, they are few and far between. Trump will not carry Massachusetts in 2020, even against the often-incoherent Joe Biden. So, there will be no Trump bump or momentum to carry over into 2022, not in Massachusetts anyway.
Some people who have been around Massachusetts politics for a long time have suggested that Baker, who is still popular after six years in office, consider running for a third term as an Independent to bypass the internal controversies of the state Republican Party.
Although it has been tried before, Massachusetts has never elected an Independent to any statewide office, let alone governor.
But Baker is different. Much of the moderate governor’s support comes from independents to begin with, although he does well with Democrats, as a Republican must to get elected in a Democratic state.
Whether that support will carry over into 2021 and 2022 following his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home disaster remains to be seen.
Massachusetts election numbers show that independent voters rule. While there are 1,491,600 registered Democrats to only 462,586 registered Republicans, there are a whopping 2,564,076 registered independents.
Were Baker, or any Republican, to rely on just Republicans to win an election, he would never be heard from again.
Baker has been able to put together a coalition of Republicans, independents and Democrats, to get elected twice, beating two Democrats, the first in 2014 over then Attorney General Martha Coakley and again in 2018 over Jay Gonzalez.
Since first elected Baker has been able to work out a productive relationship with the Democrats who run the Legislature, namely House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Karen Spilka.
Why Baker, 63, would want a third term as governor is anyone’s guess, especially after dealing with accumulating problems that have taken their toll.
But Baker, should he decide to run as a Republican or an Independent, should be tested. Not for the virus, mind you, but to have his head examined.
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July 04, 2020 at 05:09PM
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What Charlie Baker faces should he seek a third term - Boston Herald
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