Gov shows up to back Maine’s Collins
Charlie Baker made waves Friday after the Republican governor, who typically avoids wading into national politics, cut videos in support of GOP U.S. Sen. Susan Collins as she fights a fierce re-election battle in Maine.
“As governor of Massachusetts, I work with both parities to get things done. Susan Collins does that in the Senate,” Baker says in a solo ad bankrolled by the Republican Jewish Coalition. “We need more leaders like Susan. I hope you re-elect her.”
In another, appearing with fellow blue-state Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland and Joe Lieberman, a former Democratic senator, Baker intones, “There’s a reason why Democrat and Republican governors and senators are supporting Susan Collins, it’s because she believes in doing what’s right for Maine.”
Baker knows a thing or two about bipartisan support — he enjoys plenty of it in the Bay State, where a recent UMass Lowell poll of likely Democratic primary voters found him with higher favorables than the state’s leading Democrats.
But the ads sparked surprise and confusion about why the politically averse governor, who’s avoided tying himself to the current national GOP brand, would rush to Collins’ aid — and why he would potentially put some of the Democratic support enjoys at home at risk by doing so.
Democrats are heavily invested in the outcome of Collins’ contest against Democrat Sara Gideon, the Maine House speaker, because it could help decide the power balance in the Senate. Collins, who’s seeking a fifth term, has seen her bipartisan image chipped away at by Democrats who have hammered her votes supporting Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court and Trump’s tax breaks, and is down in the polls.
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, a Democrat, swiftly bashed Baker’s endorsement while tweeting support for Gideon.
“Susan Collins gave us Brett Kavanaugh and Trump’s tax giveaway. A vote for her now is a vote for Mitch McConnell and Trump’s agenda,” Healey tweeted. “It’s not good for Maine, and it’s not good for Massachusetts. Charlie Baker should know that.”
Democratic strategist Scott Ferson said that while the endorsement may be upsetting to Massachusetts activists eager to see the Senate turn blue, “I don’t think that translates down to rank-and-file voters.”
With speculation already swirling over whether the Republican governor will run for a third term, GOP strategist Patrick Griffin said Baker’s move to endorse Collins “may be an indication he’s on to other things.”