STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ANOTHER 12,983 people in Massachusetts were newly confirmed to have COVID-19 over the Christmas holiday weekend, the Department of Public Health reported Monday. With a total […]
Gubernatorial politics
Posted inThe Download
Baker goes turtle while Gonzalez gets carried away
It couldn’t compete with the drama of the Astros-Sox game, but Wednesday night’s debate between Republican Gov. Charlie Baker and Democratic challenger Jay Gonzalez packed a lot of punch. Baker […]
Posted inPolitics
Is Charlie Baker really a Republican?
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER has an R next to his name, but many Republicans don’t think it belongs there. Ed Lyons, a Republican activist who is a big fan of Baker, said […]
Posted inPolitics
Is Charlie Baker beatable?
Charlie Baker, the most popular governor in America, looks like a lock for reelection, according to polls, pundits, and even lots of Democrats you talk to. But don’t count John […]
Posted inThe Download
The Codcast: Is Charlie Baker beatable?
Charlie Baker, the most popular governor in America, looks like a lock for reelection, according to polls, pundits, and even lots of Democrats you talk to. But don’t count John […]
Posted inPolitics
Maine experiments with ranked-choice voting
Shawn Moody won the Republican nomination for governor of Maine on Tuesday, but he won’t know his Democratic opponent for several more days because of a new ranked-choice voting system that […]
Posted inThe Download
Maine experiments with ranked-choice voting
Shawn Moody won the Republican nomination for governor of Maine on Tuesday, but he won’t know his Democratic opponent for several more days because of a new ranked-choice voting system that […]
Posted inPolitics
A Lively campaign
There’s two sides to every coin, goes the old saw, but it’s hard to make heads or tails out of the results of the GOP convention in Worcester and what it […]
Posted inThe Download
A Lively campaign
There’s two sides to every coin, goes the old saw, but it’s hard to make heads or tails out of the results of the GOP convention in Worcester and what it […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
A model for Baker in Maryland
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker continues his tightrope walk between owning the “R” after his name and trying to create distance with the R-occupant of the White House. The trouble is, […]
Posted inHealth Care, Politics, State House News Service
Baker administration, union target DCF together
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. CHARLIE BAKER plans in the coming months to implement changes at the beleaguered Department of Children and Families, part of an “unprecedented collaboration” between his […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Poll: Baker is state’s most popular pol
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AFTER SPENDING THE WINTER managing state budget shortfalls and snow emergencies, Gov. Charlie Baker weathered his first 100 days in office remarkably well, according to a […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Earned income tax credit vs. film tax credit
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER made the first move, calling early in March for an expansion of the politically popular earned income tax credit and proposing to pay for it with money […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Charlie Baker’s compassionate conservativism
Somewhere between the classic Republican world view summed up by his new budget chief (in 140 characters or less), who said the state’s problem is that we’re “overregulated and not […]
Posted inPolitics
Baker and the RGA
Gov.-elect Charlie Baker, who ran for office in Massachusetts as a bipartisan policy wonk, is taking a break from his post-election vacation to attend a Republican Governors Association conference in […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Patrick makes nice with journalists from away
Deval Patrick, the nation’s only African American governor, made a predictable trip down legacy lane during the National Association of Black Journalists’ recent convention in Boston. Patrick celebrated how his […]
Posted inPolitics
Super PAC supporting Grossman is bankrolled by… his mother
Steve Grossman, call your mother. Wait, no, better not. It could be legally risky if the conversation veers toward a certain random topic, like, say, the fact that you are […]
Posted inPolitics
Baker and the GOP immigration dilemma
Republicans knew early in 2012 that they were staring at demographic obsolescence, and that the only way to stave off a prolonged trip to the electoral wilderness was to broaden […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Dark money unlikely to brighten Grossman’s odds
Cue the dark-money attack ad sliming the candidate in the lead. Cue the counter ad from the attack target calling out the candidate the attack ad is fronting for as […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Baker’s McCormick problem
Gov. Deval Patrick’s bid to shelter immigrant children in Massachusetts is creating some interesting plot lines in the race to succeed him. The Democratic candidates for governor — Attorney General […]
Posted inEducation, Politics, State House News Service, The Download
Charter defeat is a winning issue for Baker
After the Senate voted Wednesday to keep the state’s cap on charter schools in place, the head of one of the state’s teachers unions told the State House News Service, […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
State GOP puts its money where its mouth is
The Massachusetts Republican Party is on the verge of throwing its financial weight behind Charlie Baker’s gubernatorial effort, even as Baker fends off a primary challenge from Mark Fisher. The […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
Casino repeal could become the issue of the 2014 election
The race for governor is still young, but so far, it’s a contest that’s lacked both star power and sizzle. Early polling shows that the race hasn’t registered with voters. […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The declaration of independents
Massachusetts has a large, and growing, block of independent voters. They call out like a siren to ambitious outsider politicians, ambitious individuals who set out to vanquish partisan politics. These […]