The Republican Party announced on Saturday that their nominee for Massachusetts’s gubernatorial election would be Charlie Baker, who was nominated alongside running mate Richard Tisei.
Baker is the former CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tisei is the minority leader of the Massachusetts State Senate.
The endorsement was given at the Massachusetts Republican Party Convention in Worcester. Baker won the nomination over Christy Mihos, another Republican vying for office, by a margin of 89 to 11 percent.
In a press release on Baker’s campaign website, Baker expressed his gratitude at the nomination.
“To receive the endorsement of the Republican Party is truly an honor,” Baker said. “As I have campaigned across Massachusetts, a consistent theme has been apparent, people are extremely worried about out-of-control spending from the insiders running Beacon Hill. Today marks the start of change.”
Controlling government spending and holding state agencies accountable for their spending and actions are the main platforms of Baker’s campaign.
The Baker-Tisei campaign blames many of the problems that Massachusetts currently faces on incumbent Gov. Deval Patrick, who is running for reelection.
“Governor Patrick has failed over the last four years to reform and restore Massachusetts and the voters are keenly aware that the spending and malaise will continue if he is re-elected,” Tisei said in an April 17 press release. “Billions in new taxes and fees, record high unemployment and massive government expansion is the record of the current leadership on Beacon Hill and voters don’t want to sign up for more of the same.”
However, Patrick’s campaign is still confident in its chances and will stay focused through the remainder of the race, said campaign spokesman Alex Goldstein.
“We welcome him to the race officially as the Republican nominee and we look forward to a robust and substantively based campaign and we hope it can live up to that standard,” Goldstein said. “We are focused on our own campaign and telling about our accomplishments. Especially around finishing what we’ve started when it comes to education and job creation.”
Goldstein said that while Baker was at the Republican State Convention over the past weekend, Patrick went to four events in four cities throughout Massachusetts that attracted over 2,000 people collectively.
“That’s what this campaign is all about. It’s about reaching out to the people,” Goldstein said.
Patrick will compete against community activist and 2006 opponent Grace Ross for the nomination at the Democratic State Convention in June.
With Baker endorsed by the Republican Party, the race is now between Baker, Patrick, Ross and State Treasurer Tim Cahill, who is running as an independent after leaving the Democratic Party last year.
According to a poll taken by the Western New England College Polling Institute, Patrick is ahead in the race thus far, at 34 percent, while Cahill has 29 percent and Baker has 27 percent. The phone poll, which was conducted between April 11 and April 15, surveyed 528 voters in Massachusetts.
Baker’s office could not be reached for comment at press time.
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