Charlie Baker

Among the many reasons former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney had to smile on election night 2014 was the ascension of Charlie Baker to Romney’s former office.  Those most interested in another Romney run will want to model Baker’s path from defeat to renomination to victory.

The national media “covering” the Massachusetts gubernatorial election have a narrative and they are sticking to it.  Never mind that it is both lazy and unoriginal.

The four MassPoliticsProfs watched the same WGBH/Boston Globe debate between Charlie Baker and Martha Coakley – and came to different conclusions.

We all look forward to a substantive debate tonight between Democratic candidate Martha Coakley and Republican Charlie Baker. In that spirit I asked some of the smartest people I know – my colleagues at MassPoliticsProfs and at UMass Boston – for some debate questions. You’re welcome, Jim and Margery.

This past spring, I put together a hierarchy of Massachusetts political endorsements.  As we approach election day, I am republishing with some updates.  One big caveat; No one endorsement is a game changer.  Elizabeth Warren couldn’t save John Tierney, Michael Dukakis couldn’t boost Mike Lake, and Mitt Romney couldn’t bring more Republicans into the Legislature in 2004.  Candidates and conditions (statewide and national) matter.

Charlie Baker has been defending himself from charges that he has a "compassion deficit." Where does Massachusetts reputation for compassion come from and is it sustainable?

Last week was a good one for democracy in Massachusetts, I felt, not for the gubernatorial campaign which was both tawdry and tedious; but because I had jury duty.

Charlie Baker needs this election to boil down to a personal choice; that is to say a choice between two people, not two policy agendas or governing philosophies. This tricky but necessary tact for Bay State Republicans requires very careful attention to good behavior on the campaign trail. When Baker committed the "sweetheart" gaffe it was a relatively containable slip, but a slip nonetheless. The latest SuperPAC attack ad on Martha Coakley, however, is a bit more complicated.