Polito may be running for Keating’s seat
Whether Republican Gov. Charlie Baker runs for a third term in 2022 is an open question.
Whether he has Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito at his side, if he does run, is something else.
After eight years of standing 20 feet behind Baker at public events, there are those who believe it is time that Polito, 50, step out on her own.
And that means running for Congress in the 9th Congressional District for the seat currently held by veteran Democrat Rep. William Keating, 68, of Bourne.
That is why, some believe, Polito and her husband Stephen Rodolakis just bought a $1.8 million house in Dartmouth, which is in the heart of Keating’s district.
The 4,800-square foot home has five bedrooms, 4 K bathrooms and sits on Ricketson’s Point, close to the water.
Polito currently lives in a $1.5 million home along Lake Quinsigamond in Shrewsbury. It is the home her two children grew up in. While the new house is reportedly a second home, it is a curious purchase in that Polito and her husband are soon to be empty nesters.
It is more believable that Polito has her eyes on taking on Keating.
As things stand now, even if Baker seeks a third consecutive term there is no guarantee that Polito will be his running mate. Having served as lieutenant governor for eight years, the prospect of doing the job for four more years might not be too appealing.
This is especially true if Baker has no plans to resign, even if he is re-elected. There is no guarantee he would resign mid-term and make Polito the acting governor. If Polito were reelected with him, she would face the prospect of serving as lieutenant governor for 12 years, which sounds more like a sentence than a job.
If Baker does not run, Polito could become the GOP candidate for governor in 2022. But in progressive and Democrat Massachusetts she would face an uphill battle against a Democrat like Attorney General Maura Healey, who is increasingly giving off signals that she will be a candidate.
It might be far easier for Polito to take on Keating, who will be seeking his sixth term in 2022 and is perceived to be vulnerable.
And if she did so and won, she would become a national figure. She would be a female Republican who beat an entrenched male Democrat in Massachusetts where all nine members of Congress, plus its two U.S. senators are Democrats.
Keating, who is no slouch, would have something to say about it all. He is a savvy politician who has been around. His votes in Congress, like the rest of the delegation, fall along party lines dictated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Before Congress Keating served in the Massachusetts Legislature, first as representative and then as a senator. He made a name for himself when he put to gather a coalition in the Senate to take on then-entrenched Senate President Billy Bulger. He lost. He later was elected district attorney in Norfolk County.
Polito is also a former state representative who in 2010 was the Republican candidate for state treasurer, losing to Democrat Steve Grossman. In 2013 she reversed her opposition to same sex marriage when Baker chose her as his running mate.
Since then, she has been a dutiful sidekick to the governor.
The 9th District stretches for Norwell down to New Bedford, includes parts of Fall River, all of Cape Cod and the Islands, the South Coast as well as Plymouth.
While some may view a run by Polito against Keating as far-fetched, it pays to look at the results of the last election.
In 2000, Keating was challenged by Republican Helen Brady of Plymouth, a feisty conservative who ran a largely self-financed longshot campaign..
One of her first obstacles was getting the Supreme Judicial Court to overrule a questionable decision by the state Ballot Law Commission that ruled her ineligible because of an electronic signature gathering issue.
Despite that challenge, the lack of recognition and sparse media coverage, and the fact that she was running against an entrenched Democrat, Brady got 36% of the vote,154,261 votes, to Keating’s 61%, or 260,262 votes.
Polito would easily top that.