Politics

Warren’s GOP challenger says he might vote for Charlie Baker for president

Deaton said on a podcast he'll cast a write-in vote for president in November. When pressed, he said the first name that came to mind was that of former Governor Charlie Baker.

Attorney John Deaton, Republican contender in US Senate. JOSH REYNOLDS FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE(

September 18, 2024

1 minute to read

Senator Elizabeth Warren’s challenger has said he won’t vote for former President Donald Trump in November. But, he’s not voting for Vice President Kamala Harris, either.

“Enough is enough. We gotta stop with which one is the lesser of two evils,” John Deaton said on a recent episode of the Codcast, the CommonWealth Beacon’s podcast.

Deaton, who recently moved to Massachusetts, is a former U.S. Marine and cryptocurrency attorney. After winning nearly 65 percent of the vote in the Republican senate primary over two other candidates, he’ll attempt to unseat Warren as she runs for her third term.

When the podcast turned toward the presidential election, Deaton said he’s “going to write in a name.”

“Someone that probably embodies unity, and not division. Somebody who understands that we have to bring each other together,” Deaton said. “I don’t believe the two presidential candidates that we have … all I do is see finger pointing.”

When host Gintautas Dumcius pressed for an answer, Deaton named former Governor Charlie Baker as a strong choice, lauding his high approval rating and ability to work alongside Democrats.

“I haven’t thought that hard on it, but the first name that comes to mind for me would be someone like Charlie Baker,” Deaton said. “Somebody who obviously worked across the aisle to try to solve problems.”

Deaton has billed himself as a Baker-esque Republican and has made promises to cross the aisle a key element of his campaign. He said on the podcast that he was previously a registered Independent. If elected, he said, he would caucus with Democrats to prevent a nation-wide abortion ban.

Deaton said on the Codcast he’s not a partisan person and called Warren “the extremist in this race.” He said the biggest issues facing the country include the national debt, immigration, housing, inflation, and foreign wars.

“What we need is someone who is socially moderate to liberal person who’s fiscally conservative,” Deaton said, referring to himself.