Charlie Baker, a member of the Republican Party, served as the 72nd governor of Massachusetts from January 8, 2015, until January 5, 2023. Baker was considered a liberal or moderate Republican. During his governorship, Baker regularly had one of the highest approval ratings among incumbent U.S. governors.

Baker's politics Baker is considered a liberal or moderate Republican and was a frequent critic of Donald Trump, a Republican who served as president of the United States for a portion of Baker's governorship. Baker supported the impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump that began in September 2019. After the January 6 United States Capitol attack, Baker called for Trump to be removed from office. On January 3, 2023, Baker delivered his farewell address from the Massachusetts State House.

Gubernatorial elections Unsuccessful 2010 campaign

In 2009 Baker was again rumored to be a contender for the Massachusetts gubernatorial election. Former Governor Weld strongly encouraged him to run, calling him "the heart and soul of the Weld–Cellucci administration."Lehigh, Scot (June 10, 2009). "Is the state political stage set for a rerun of 1990?" The Boston Globe 275 (161): p. A13. On July 8, 2009, Baker announced his candidacy, and on July 17 he stepped down from his position at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. His campaign formally began on January 30, 2010. His opponents were Democratic incumbent Deval Patrick, Green-Rainbow candidate Jill Stein, and an independent, state treasurer and Receiver General Tim Cahill.Johnson, Carolyn Y. (January 30, 2010). "Baker formally announces campaign for governor." The Boston Globe. Retrieved January 30, 2010. For his running mate, Baker chose Senate minority leader Richard R. Tisei.Levenson, Michael (November 24, 2009). "Baker names Senate's Tisei as running mate." The Boston Globe 276 (147): p. A1. At the state Republican Convention on April 17, 2010, Baker won the Republican nomination over former Independent candidate Christy Mihos with 89% of the delegate vote, thus avoiding a primary fight with Mihos.Phillips, Frank; Levenson, Michael, "Baker romps, Mihos is out: Candidate wins 89% of vote and avoids a primary fight", Boston Globe, April 18, 2010

Baker ran as a social liberal (in favor of gay marriage and abortion rights) and a fiscal conservative, stressing job creation as his primary focus.Helman, Scott (July 30, 2009). "Some in GOP hoping Baker frees party from shadow of Romney." The Boston Globe 276 (30): p. 11."Baker to run for gov. in 2010 ." FOX 25 News Boston. July 8, 2009 (updated July 9, 2009). Retrieved August 8, 2009. He reinforced his socially liberal position by selecting as his running mate Richard Tisei, an openly gay Republican who had supported same-sex marriage legalization efforts in Massachusetts. Baker's campaign centered on "Baker's Dozen," a plan outlining 13 areas of state government reform, which included consolidation of government, welfare reform, and restructuring of public employee pension and retirement benefits that Baker claimed would lower state expenditures by over $1 billion."Baker's Dozen ." Charlie Baker 2010. The Baker Committee. Retrieved June 17, 2010. A former member of the Massachusetts Board of Education, Baker advocated more charter, magnet, and alternative schools. Believing that education is a "civil right," he also aimed to close the educational achievement gap among underprivileged and minority students."Strengthening Education ." Charlie Baker 2010. The Baker Committee. Retrieved June 17, 2010. At a town hall meeting in Chilmark, Massachusetts, on Martha's Vineyard, Baker voiced his opposition to the proposed Cape Wind project supported by Governor Patrick.

Baker ran against Patrick in an atmosphere of voter discontent, with a slow economy and high unemployment, which he used to his advantage during the campaign. Patrick, facing low approval ratings, criticized Baker for his role in the Big Dig financing plan, and for raising health premiums while head of Harvard Pilgrim.Rezendes, Michael (November 3, 2010). "Baker tells his supporters: 'We have no cause to hang our heads." The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 3, 2010. Despite an anti-incumbent mood among voters, Baker lost the November 2 general election with 42% of the vote to Patrick's 48%."Campaign 2010: Governor | Massachusetts." The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 3, 2010. "We fought the good fight," said Baker in his concession speech. "We have no cause to hang our heads and will be stronger for having fought this one."

After the 2010 election, Baker was named an executive in residence at General Catalyst Partners and a member of the board of directors at the Tremont Credit Union.

2014

On September 4, 2013, Baker announced that he would run for governor again in 2014 when incumbent governor Deval Patrick retired. On November 25, 2013, Mark Fisher, a businessman and Tea Party member announced that he would run against Baker in the Republican primary. In December 2013, Baker chose as his running mate Karyn Polito, a former opponent of same-sex marriage who had come to support marriage equality.

At the Republican State Convention on March 22, 2014, Baker received 2,095 votes (82.708%) and Fisher 374 (14.765%). There were 64 blank votes (2.527%). The threshold for making the ballot is 15% and the party announced that Baker had thus received the nomination without the need for a primary election. But Fisher argued that according to the Convention Rules, blank votes are not counted for the purposes of determining the winner and that he thus received 15.148%, enough to make the ballot. He sued the Massachusetts Republican State Committee and was certified for the primary ballot after a lengthy battle. In the September 9 primary election, Baker defeated Fisher with 74% of the vote.

In July 2014, Democrats criticized Baker for refusing to say whether he supported a provision in the new gun control law that gave police chiefs discretion to deny firearms identification cards, which are required to purchase shotguns and rifles. He later said in a debate that he would have signed the gun control bill as it was signed by Governor Patrick.

On October 27, 2014, The Boston Globe announced that it was endorsing Baker, the first time in 20 years that the paper had supported a Republican candidate for governor. "One needn't agree with every last one of Baker's views to conclude that, at this time, the Republican nominee would provide the best counterpoint to the instincts of an overwhelmingly Democratic Legislature," the endorsement reads. The newspaper also supported Baker because it claimed he would be the better candidate to "consolidate" Patrick's legacy on reforms tied to education, health care and public transportation.

On October 29, 2014, controversy arose over a story that Baker told the previous night about a fisherman and his two sons in New Bedford. In the following days, The Boston Globe and The Standard-Times were unable to find the fisherman. A professor from Northeastern University claimed the story, which Baker claims occurred in 2009, could have been a false memory. Democratic nominee Martha Coakley seized on the moment to attack Baker, and visited New Bedford to meet with fishing industry leaders.

After polls closed on election night, preliminary results showed that Baker had won the election. Later in the morning, Coakley conceded. The final election tally showed Baker with 48.5% of the vote to Coakley's 46.6%.

2018

Heading into the 2018 election, Baker had been consistently rated as one of the most popular governors in the country.

He was challenged in the Republican primary by Scott Lively, an evangelical pastor, who received enough votes at the state convention to qualify for ballot access. However, Baker easily fended off this challenge, receiving nearly 70% of the vote in the Republican primary on September 4, 2018. Lively filed a lawsuit against Baker and the state Republican Party alleging they violated neutrality rules during the campaign. Superior Court Judge Susan Sullivan dismissed all claims brought by Lively on June 25, 2019.

In the general election, Baker faced Jay Gonzalez, a private health insurance executive who also served under Governor Deval Patrick as Secretary of Administration and Finance of Massachusetts. Gonzalez suffered from low name recognition throughout the campaign and polls indicated that Baker would receive a majority of the vote from registered Democrats in the state. Baker was reelected in a landslide with 67% of the vote and the highest vote total in the history of Massachusetts gubernatorial elections. This was also the best performance by a Massachusetts Republican governor since Bill Weld's reelection in 1994.

Approval ratings

Nonpartisan polls consistently found Baker to be among the nation's most popular governors.

Job Approval Polling groupDateApprovalDisapprovalUnsureWestern New England UniversityApril 6–14, 201563%10%27%Suffolk UniversityApril 16–21, 201570%6%23%Morning ConsultMay–November 201574%14%12%Western New England UniversityNovember 8–15, 201572%12%16%Suffolk UniversityNovember 18–22, 201570%12%17%Morning ConsultJanuary–May 201672%16%12%Suffolk UniversityMay 2–5, 201671%11%17%Morning ConsultMay–September 201670%18%12%UMass Amherst/WBZ-TVSeptember 15–20, 201663%23%15%Suffolk University/The Boston GlobeOctober 24–26, 201669%10%19%Morning ConsultJanuary–March 201775%17%8%Morning ConsultApril 1 – July 10, 201771%17%12%Morning ConsultJuly 1 – September 30, 201769%17%14%Morning ConsultOctober 1 – December 31, 201769%16%15%Western New England UniversityOctober 24 – November 7, 201768%13%19%WBUR/MassINCJanuary 5–7, 201874%13%13%Morning ConsultJanuary 1 – March 31, 201871%16%13%Suffolk University/The Boston GlobeJune 8–12, 201860%19%21%Morning ConsultApril 1 – June 30, 201869%17%14%Suffolk University/The Boston GlobeSeptember 13–17, 201872%18%10%Morning ConsultJuly 1 – September 25, 201870%17%13%Western New England UniversityOctober 10 – 27, 201867%15%18%Suffolk University/The Boston GlobeOctober 24–27, 201873%16%11%Morning ConsultOctober 1 – December 31, 201872%14%15%Morning ConsultJanuary 1 – March 31, 201973%14%13%Morning ConsultApril 1 – June 30, 201973%14%13%Morning ConsultJuly 1 – September 30, 201973%16%11%Morning ConsultOctober 1 – December 31, 201969%19%12%Suffolk University/The Boston GlobeMarch 24–27, 202080%13%7% Favorability Polling groupDateFavorableUnfavorableUnsureWestern New England UniversityApril 6–14, 201556%13%31%Suffolk UniversityApril 16–21, 201574%8%18%WBUR/MassINCJune 4–6, 201569%10%17%WBUR/MassINCJuly 6–8, 201564%14%18%Suffolk UniversityNovember 18–22, 201570%15%12%Suffolk UniversityMay 2–5, 201666%12%17%WBUR/MassINCSeptember 7–10, 201662%16%17%UMass Amherst/WBZ-TVSeptember 15–20, 201663%24%14%WBUR/MassINCOctober 13–16, 201655%17%22%Suffolk University/The Boston GlobeOctober 24–26, 201664%12%18%WBUR/MassINCJanuary 15–17, 201759%18%20%WBUR/MassINCJune 19–22, 201764%15%18%WBUR/MassINCNovember 9–12, 201767%14%19%WBUR/MassINCJanuary 5–7, 201866%17%17%WBUR/MassINCMarch 16–18, 201866%14%20%WBUR/MassINCMay 22–26, 201867%9%23%Suffolk University/The Boston GlobeJune 8–12, 201864%18%18%Suffolk University/The Boston GlobeSeptember 13–17, 201873%17%10%WBUR/MassINCSeptember 17–21, 201874%14%12%UMass Lowell/The Boston GlobeOctober 1–7, 201878%12%10%Suffolk University/The Boston GlobeOctober 24–27, 201873%15%12%WBUR/MassINCOctober 25–28, 201871%17%12%WBUR/MassINCMay 9–13, 201966%15%19%WBUR/MassINCJuly 17–20, 202077%16%7%

In July 2016, the market research firm Gravis Marketing conducting a poll on ballot questions and state politics for Jobs First, a conservative political action committee, found Baker having a two-thirds favorability rating.

A January 2018 WBUR/MassINC poll gave Baker a 74% approval rating, making him the most popular governor in the United States.

Economic policy