Gov. Charlie Baker, a moderate Republican popular with voters in heavily Democratic Massachusetts, was re-elected Tuesday to a second four-year term.
Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito easily turned back a challenge from Democrat Jay Gonzalez, a former state budget official, and his running mate, Quentin Palfrey.
Baker touted the state’s strong economy and low unemployment, his administration’s progress in stabilizing the state’s finances without broad tax increases, and steps taken to tackle the opioid addiction crisis.
He also has distanced himself from President Donald Trump, who is deeply unpopular in the state. Questioning Trump’s “temperament” for the office, he said he blanked his ballot for president in 2016 and recently said he probably wouldn’t vote for Trump in 2020 if the president is again the Republican nominee.
“The people of Massachusetts elected us four years ago to bring fiscal discipline, a reform-minded approach to governing, and a commitment to bipartisanship to state government,” Baker told supporters Tuesday night. “And today, the voters have spoken. They like what we are doing and they appreciate the way we work.”
Baker, who concluded his speech with the words “let’s rock!” acknowledged that there was more to do in his second term, on issues such as opioids, transportation, education, climate change, housing, economic development and health care.
Gonzalez, who served in the administration of former Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick, ran on a liberal platform that included a call for $3 billion in new taxes to improve education and transportation, and a single-payer health care system.
Portraying Baker as a “status quo” governor who lacked the necessary vision to fix the state’s most pressing problems, he called for taxing large private college endowments and a surtax on the wealthiest earners to help pay for reforms. Republicans said the money Gonzalez hoped to raise through those taxes wouldn’t come close to paying for all the increased spending he proposed.
Baker’s liberal stance on many social issues helped make him a more comfortable choice for Democrats and left-leaning independents. He signed legislation in his first term to help ensure abortion rights continue in Massachusetts even if the U.S. Supreme Court should reverse Roe v. Wade, and a law that protects transgender people from discrimination in public accommodations, including the right to use restrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity.
Meanwhile, Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, weighing a possible White House run, defeated two challengers Tuesday.
Warren, who turned aside Republican state Rep. Geoff Diehl and independent candidate Shiva Ayyadurai, has seen her national profile soar as a leader of the liberal wing of Democratic Party, in part because of her frequent Twitter clashes with Trump.