Massachusetts Governor: Post-Primary Bottom Line

The following Bottom Line has been updated following this week's primaries in Massachusetts.

By almost any measure, Republican Charlie Baker is one of the most popular Governors in the nation. He is also the most moderate of the nation’s 33 Republican Governors, which is an important asset in this solidly blue state. Baker has focused on issues that voters care about like infrastructure improvements and even signed pay equity legislation. But, that same moderation earned Baker a primary challenge to his right from pastor Scott Lively, who he defeated easily, 64 percent to 36 percent. At the start of the cycle, Democrats had Baker on their list of targets, but they weren’t able to entice a first-tier challenger into the race. The closest thing that they had to one, Newton Mayor Setti Warren, dropped out of the race in late April after struggling to raise money. Former state budget director Jay Gonzales won the Democratic primary with 64 percent to 36 percent for Bob Massie, who was the party’s nominee for Lieutenant Governor in 1994. The race is