AP: GOP Governor Charlie Baker Looks “Unbeatable” In Deep-Blue Massachusetts

With a clear record of bipartisan results as he continues his work to move Massachusetts forward, GOP Governor Charlie Baker remains in strong position for re-election just over two months to go until Election Day.

The Associated Press reports that Governor Baker appears “nearly unbeatable” as he “has amassed more than $8 million in campaign funds, and polls consistently place him among the nation’s most well-liked governors.” This comes despite the fact that he governs “typically deep-blue Massachusetts” as a Republican.

While neither of his Democrat opponents have widespread name recognition “outside of Democratic activist circles” and both remain plagued by anemic fundraising hauls, Governor Baker’s enduring support from across the political spectrum has him firmly on track for victory in November.

The Associated Press reports:

“A popular Republican who seems nearly unbeatable. To his left, a pair of little-known Democratic hopefuls vying for attention and struggling to raise cash. To his right, a GOP challenger who claims the incumbent isn’t nearly conservative enough.

It sounds like a red-state political scenario, but this is what the governor’s race looks like in typically deep-blue Massachusetts, which holds its primary next Tuesday.

Republican Charlie Baker, a moderate seeking a second four-year term, has amassed more than $8 million in campaign funds, and polls consistently place him among the nation’s most well-liked governors. This in a state with an all-Democratic congressional delegation and an overwhelmingly Democratic legislature, which hasn’t voted Republican in a presidential election since 1984.

Still, independents comprise more than 50 percent of the Massachusetts electorate, and Baker has found support from both middle-of-the-road voters and those who lean Democratic but are disgusted by hyper-partisan politics.

Voters, Baker said, often tell him ‘the thing they appreciate the most … is that we really do focus on the work, not on the noise.’….

Neither [Jay Gonzalez nor Robert Massie] has significant name recognition outside of Democratic activist circles…

The Democratic primary winner will likely struggle to compete financially in the general election. Gonzalez, endorsed by delegates to the Democratic state convention, reported a campaign balance of about $367,000 in mid-August. Massie, backed by the Bernie Sanders-inspired Our Revolution group, ended the same period with only $83,000 and has twice made personal loans to help keep his campaign afloat.

Their predicament isn’t unheard of in Massachusetts, where four of the last five governors — including 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney — have been Republicans.

‘I haven’t been unhappy with (Baker) but I’ve never voted for a Republican in my life,’ said Stephanie Manzella, a history teacher from Yarmouth, who is undecided about how she’ll vote this fall and won’t simply cast a ‘kneejerk’ ballot for the Democratic nominee.

‘I feel Massachusetts has done well’ under Baker, she said, adding: ‘I’m going to do my homework.’”