Charlie announces aim for second term

Gov. Charlie Baker will seek a second four-year term in 2018, the moderate Republican announced yesterday without fanfare.

“We’ve accomplished a lot together, but there’s more work to do: That’s why I’m running for re-election as your Governor,” Baker wrote in a message posted to Twitter, along with a link to his official campaign website.

Baker’s top political aide and 2014 campaign manager Jim Conroy said Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito won’t make a formal campaign launch until next year.

“The Governor and Lt. Governor intend to seek re-election, and will begin to build a campaign organization over the coming months,” Conroy said in a statement. “With election day still a year away, the Governor and Lt. Governor remain focused on the bipartisan work they were elected to do.”

The announcement comes about a year before the general election and with three Democrats currently vying for their party’s nomination: Newton Mayor Setti Warren, former state budget chief Jay Gonzalez and environmental activist Bob Massie.

That Baker is running is no surprise. His campaign account has more than $6.9 million through the middle of this month, and he has repeatedly said he intended to make an announcement sometime this fall.

Baker has also polled as one of the most popular governors in the country — numbers that have helped fend off criticism from Democrats in the State House.

Baker won’t have the backing of Senate President Stanley C. Rosenberg, despite their cordial professional relationship.

“I wish him luck, I will be supporting the Democrat,” Rosenberg said yesterday. “Everybody brings their own agenda to the table and the governor tilts to the direction of the Republican party platform . ... I couldn’t vote for the Republican party platform, I can and do vote for the Democratic party platform.”

The Amherst Democrat added that a “grassroots campaign” by the eventual Democratic nominee would help build momentum to topple Baker’s lofty approval ratings.