Gov. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts Is Said to Decline a Re-election Bid

Politics|Gov. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts Is Said to Decline a Re-election Bid

Gov. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, a Republican who defied erstwhile President Donald J. Trump during his 2 terms, has told supporters and allies helium volition not question re-election adjacent year, according to radical acquainted with the conversations.

Mr. Baker, 65, a mean who is much fashionable successful polling among Democrats and autarkic voters than helium is among chap Republicans, confronted a Trump-backed superior situation and a wide predetermination successful which helium could person faced the state’s fashionable lawyer general, Maura Healey, a Democrat.

Mr. Baker is expected to marque a nationalist announcement connected Wednesday astir his volition not to question re-election. His spokeswoman did not instantly respond to requests for comment.

A erstwhile wellness attraction executive, Mr. Baker is simply a popular, even-keeled, nonideological New England Republican who has been a proponent of termination rights, same-sex matrimony and immoderate weapon power measures. He would person been the favourite had helium decided to run. But helium was besides a relic of the pre-Trump Republican Party that present exists mostly successful tv greenish rooms and Washington deliberation tanks.

His departure from the contention volition marque this a high-profile contention betwixt antithetic branches of the Democratic Party, astir apt pitting Ms. Healey, of the establishment’s halfway left, against the progressives Sonia Chang-Díaz, a authorities senator, and Ben Downing, a erstwhile authorities senator.

Ms. Healey has yet to denote her candidacy but has said she would see the race. Ms. Chang-Díaz and Mr. Downing person been campaigning for months.

Mr. Baker faced a hard Republican superior situation from Geoff Diehl, a erstwhile authorities typical who was president of the Mr. Trump’s 2016 run successful Massachusetts. Mr. Trump endorsed Mr. Diehl successful October portion denouncing Mr. Baker arsenic a “Republican successful sanction only.”

Mr. Diehl is acold little apt than Mr. Baker to clasp the Massachusetts governor’s bureau for Republicans. Mr. Trump is highly unpopular successful the state, which backed Joseph R. Biden Jr. by 33 percent points successful 2020.

Ellen Barry contributed reporting.