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Gov. Charlie Baker is the country’s most popular governor, again (again)
Call it going out on a high note.
Perhaps, by now, this comes as no surprise: Gov. Charlie Baker is the nation’s most popular governor — again (yes, again).
The commonwealth’s esteemed Republican chief executive topped the list over his 49 counterparts across the country for the highest approval rating among their respective state’s voters, with 74 percent of Bay State voters finding Baker favorable, a new poll from Morning Consult shows. (On the flip side, 20 percent of those polled disapproved of Baker.)
Baker was also in good company with his fellow New England Republicans. Governors in neighboring Vermont — Republican Phil Scott — and New Hampshire — Republican Chris Sununu — also cracked the top 10, ranking second and tenth, respectively.
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The ranking comes after the global enterprise technology company surveyed registered voters around the United States between July 1 and Sept. 30. Poll results had a margin of error of 5 percent.
As many in Massachusetts already know though, the honor of being America’s favorite governor is, at this point, far from novel for Baker, the two-term governor who is leaving the corner office in January.
Although he dropped to third-most-popular in 2020, Baker — who has obviously rebounded since then — has enjoyed the title of most-liked governor in the country several times following his inauguration in 2015.
If this all feels a little like deja-vu and too soon, you’re not imagining it.
Mr. popular
Just earlier this year, another Morning Consult survey conducted between Jan. 1 and March 31 also deemed Baker the most popular governor, with a 74 percent approval rating at that time, too.
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Still, even as he’s riding high, Baker opted against seeking a third, four-year term, setting the scene for the now-ongoing open race to succeed him between Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey and former Republican state Rep. Geoff Diehl.
Baker told supporters late last year about his decision not to run again, pointing to the need to focus on the state’s continuing COVID-19 recovery and a desire to spend more time with his family.
But there have also been fractures within the MassGOP in recent years, as pro- and anti-Trump members have squabbled over whether to embrace the former president’s “Make America Great Again” brand of conservatism.
Baker, a moderate who often refrains from engaging in the overt fray of party politics, has clashed with party Chairman Jim Lyons, a fervent Trump supporter.
When Lyons openly supported and funded a Boston City Council candidate who made anti-Asian social media posts last year, Baker said publicly Lyons should resign.
Lyons, in response, quipped maybe the time had come for Baker “to reconsider his party affiliation.”
And when Baker, two months later, announced he would not run again, Lyons said, “We’re turning a new page here in Massachusetts. Our party remains committed to the America-First agenda advocated by President Donald J. Trump, and it’s clear to me that Charlie Baker was shaken by President Trump’s endorsement of another Republican candidate in Geoff Diehl.”
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But election polls so far have consistently shown voters don’t have the same love for Diehl that they have for Baker, even in a liberal state with somewhat of an affinity for Republican governors.
A mid-September poll conducted by Suffolk University and sponsored by the Boston Globe, NBC 10 Boston, and Telemundo found Diehl trailed Healey by at least 25 percentage points, with 51.6 percent of voters polled favoring Healey compared to 26.2 percent who are backing Diehl.
Healey also has a substantial war chest in contrast to Diehl. The latest campaign finance filings from the end of September shows Healey had over $3.5 million on hand while Diehl reported approximately $88,500.
As for Baker, the governor has not endorsed his party’s nominee or any Republican running for statewide office, except for Anthony Amore, the GOP candidate for state auditor.
“I pretty much said I was going to stay out of statewide politics and the elections this fall and I meant it,” Baker told GBH last week.
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