‘Chump change’ fundraising continues in governor’s race
It was another month of “chump change” fundraising among the field of declared and potential candidates for next year’s governor’s race as big-name Republican and Democratic politicians continued to play coy with their candidacy.
“To win the Massachusetts governor’s race is going to cost many many millions of dollars so this still seems like chump change a little bit,” said Daniel Mulcare, chairman of Salem State University’s political science department.
Still, it was the popular Republican governor’s biggest fundraising haul of the year to date. Baker raked in $173,348, according to state campaign finance records.
Baker said back in July that he would make his decision “soon,” though he still has yet to declare his 2022 intentions.
Should Baker decide to take on the fight, he’ll face the biggest challenge in former state Rep. Geoff Diehl.
The pair are a physical manifestation of the fissures threatening to split the state Republican party — the moderates and the conservatives. “One of the things Baker was able to do was to incur the wrath of Trump,” said Fred Bayles, Boston University professor emeritus, noting that’s been a beneficial thing for the moderate Republican governor in solid-blue Massachusetts. “It’s not like Trump is likely to get involved in this race and if he does, I’m not sure it would matter much.”
Diehl, a staunch Trump supporter, has branded himself as the conservative counterweight in a race that’s so far rife with liberal candidates.
Bayles said the “big question” is who the state’s meager group of Republicans would pick — and whether a Republican race would inspire independent voters to hit the primary polls.
Diehl’s campaign did not respond. Diehl, however, has lagged compared to Democratic candidates.
The Whitman resident, and onetime challenger of U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, raised $11,511 — his leanest month on the books yet since opening his campaign finance account in July.
Baker isn’t the only candidate waffling on a gubernatorial bid. Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey, who is also widely thought to be considering a run, has yet to spell out her 2022 plans.
Mulcare said Healey, whose term is up in 2022, is likely to wait to make the decision between running for reelection as attorney general or throw her hat in the ring for governor until after Baker declares his intentions.
Healey has kept fundraising up, collecting $35,407 in September.
The top Democratic earner in September was political analyst and Harvard professor Danielle Allen, who raised $113,397 and who has the most cash on hand — after Healey’s $3.2 million — with a little over $412,000.