'Boston Globe' endorses GOP's Baker for Mass. governor
The news keeps turning sour for Democrat Martha Coakley in the Massachusetts governor's race.
For the first time in 20 years, The Boston Globe endorsed a Republican to be the state's CEO by picking Charlie Baker over Coakley in the closely watched, tossup race. The newspaper, the state's most influential, said Baker "has focused principally on making state government work better" and concludes "Massachusetts needs a governor who's focused on steady management and demonstrable results."
Coakley, attorney general of Massachusetts, was trailing Baker by 9 percentage points among likely voters in a Boston Globe poll last week. She could be headed for another spectacular loss in the liberal-leaning state, following her 2010 defeat by then-little known Republican Scott Brown in a special election for the U.S. Senate.
Baker, a former CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, served in the administrations of two Republican governors. He was state Health and Human Services director under Bill Weld — the last Republican to earn the Globe endorsement in 1994 —and secretary of administration and finance under Weld and his successor, Paul Cellucci. Current Gov. Deval Patrick is not running again.
Coakley's campaign released a statement Sunday touting the endorsements she has received from labor groups and other organizations, while making reference to her bid for history. She is seeking to become the first woman elected governor of Massachusetts. "We know that the only endorsement that matters is the endorsement of the people of Massachusetts on Nov. 4," said the Coakley statement in theLowell Sun.