BOSTON — Jay Gonzalez is trying to peel Democrats and independents away from supporting Gov. Charlie Baker in November. Republican Scott Lively wants to do the same thing with GOP voters. And at the center of it all is President Donald Trump.
Baker handily defeated Lively in last Tuesday’s primary election. Now, Lively is asking his supporters to send him their feedback – and money – as he weighs whether to run a November write-in campaign, stay out of the general election entirely, or actively work to stop Republican Baker’s re-election.
Lively may have lost Sept. 4, but his 36 percent amounted to roughly 98,000 votes, or more than twice the narrow 40,000-vote margin by which Baker beat Democrat Martha Coakley in the 2014 election to become governor.
Meanwhile, Baker’s Democratic rival, former state budget chief Jay Gonzalez, is trying to build momentum coming off his primary win and knocking the incumbent governor over his support for the full Republican Party ticket, saying Baker is backing a reliable vote for the president in Rep. Geoff Diehl.
Lively told supporters Monday that he is “personally leaning toward campaigning actively against Mr. Baker through Nov. 6 and openly taking credit for his take-down as Step One in a conservative pro-Trump revolution to re-take the Mass GOP and the Legislature in 2020, and the governorship in 2022.”
Lively, a Springfield pastor, said in an email that he would take feedback through Wednesday and asked that people “vote with your wallet” by making a donation to his campaign account and including either “PRESS ON” or “RETIRE THE DEBT” in the subject line.
“Arrogant Mr. Baker thinks he can manipulate us into giving him our votes without making any concessions, and is counting on the old RINO-Reasoning Playbook to force conservatives back into line behind him out of fear of losing the seat to the Democrats,” Lively wrote.
The options Lively presented to his supporters in his “Daily Trumpeter” email newsletter were: 1) “Actively run to WIN as a write-in, conceding it would take a miracle to actually prevail;” 2) “Stay out of the general election and look ahead to future battles, telling our supporters to simply vote their conscience in November and otherwise stay out of it;” and 3) “Conduct a RINO HUNT in the general election with the open intention of taking Baker down…”
Lively said a second Baker term would push the Massachusetts Republican Party “even further to the left” and hurt Trump’s re-election efforts in two years.
But in the eyes of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, Baker’s recent comments link him to Trump, the national Republican Party and the president’s agenda.
Baker on Friday told reporters he has endorsed the GOP slate in Massachusetts, a group that includes pro-Trump Republicans Jay McMahon for attorney general and Diehl for U.S. Senate.
“By doing so, Charlie Baker is effectively supporting Donald Trump’s agenda and supporting an agenda in other ways that’s inconsistent with our values,” Gonzalez, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, told the News Service.
“Elections are about choices, and this is yet one more area where the voters of Massachusetts are going to have a clear choice between Charlie Baker and myself,” Gonzalez said. “By endorsing Geoff Diehl to the United States Senate, Charlie Baker is basically supporting an agenda that includes an anti-choice, anti-LGBTQ, anti-gay marriage agenda.”
Baker, who last week picked up the endorsements of 22 mayors, including Greenfield Mayor William Martin, did not vote for either candidate in the 2016 presidential election, has touted his bipartisan approach to governing, and as governor has periodically criticized Trump, though not nearly as often as Democrats.
“The governor did not vote for President Trump, and while his focus remains on working in a bipartisan way to deliver results for Massachusetts, he will continue to disagree with and advocate against federal policies misaligned with the best interests of the Commonwealth on issues like healthcare, climate change and immigration,” Baker campaign spokesman Terry MacCormack said.
Gonzalez said he backs the full Democratic Party ticket and emphasized his support for Warren in her race.
On Friday night, hours after Baker gave voice to his support for the GOP slates, Gonzalez campaign chair Kevin Ready sent a fundraising email pivoting off the news of Baker’s support for the candidates, including Diehl.
“Charlie Baker wants to replace our champion, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, with a guaranteed vote for Donald Trump’s extreme agenda,” Ready wrote.