Would-be frontrunner Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker declines to run for re-election


Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R), a popular incumbent and critic of former President Donald Trump, announced Wednesday he will not be seeking re-election in 2022, a decision that "surprised some in the state's political class" and will "ripple down" the Massachusetts' ballot next year, Politico and The Boston Globe report. Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito also declined to run for re-election or in Baker's place.
"After several months of discussion with our families, we have decided not to seek re-election in 2022," Baker and Polito wrote in a statement, per Politico. "This was an extremely difficult decision for us. We love the work, and we especially respect and admire the people of this wonderful Commonwealth. Serving as Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts has been the most challenging and fulfilling jobs we've ever had. We will forever be grateful to the people of this state for giving us this great honor."
Both Republicans also alluded to the importance of spending time with family and friends, and conceded that a re-election campaign would have been a "distraction" from fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, reports the Globe.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"We want to focus on recovery, not on the grudge matches political campaigns can devolve into," Baker and Polito wrote.
Baker, who would have been the favorite had he decided to run, was a "relic of the pre-Trump Republican Party," reports The New York Times. In fact, he was more popular in polling among Democrats and independent voters than Republicans.
His departure now establishes a "high-profile contest between different branches of the Democratic Party," in which Maura Healey — the state's popular attorney general who has yet to announce her candidacy — is most likely pitted against progressives Sonia Chang-Díaz, a state senator, and Ben Downing, an ex-state senator, per the Times. Trump-endorsed former state representative Geoff Diehl will challenge on the Republican side.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
The state of Britain's Armed Forces
The Explainer Geopolitical unrest and the unreliability of the Trump administration have led to a frantic re-evaluation of the UK's military capabilities
By The Week UK
-
Anti-anxiety drug has a not-too-surprising effect on fish
Under the radar The fish act bolder and riskier
By Devika Rao, The Week US
-
Crossword: April 21, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff
-
Judge threatens Trump team with criminal contempt
Speed Read James Boasberg attempts to hold the White House accountable for disregarding court orders over El Salvador deportation flights
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Biden slams Trump's Social Security cuts
Speed Read In his first major public address since leaving office, Biden criticized the Trump administration's 'damage' and 'destruction'
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
El Salvador refuses to return US deportee
Speed Read President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador said he would not send back the unlawfully deported Kilmar Ábrego García
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Trump says electronics tariff break won't last
Speed Read The tariff exemptions on smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices are temporary, the administration says
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Man charged in arson attack on Pennsylvania's Shapiro
Speed Read Governor Josh Shapiro and his family were sleeping when someone set fire to his Harrisburg mansion
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
White House pushes for oversight of Columbia University
Speed Read The Trump administration is considering placing the school under a consent decree
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Supreme Court backs wrongly deported migrant
Speed Read The Trump administration must 'facilitate' the return of wrongfully deported migrant Kilmar Ábrego García from El Salvador, Supreme Court says
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Two judges bar war-powers deportations
Speed Read The Trump administration was blocked from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport more alleged Venezuelan gang members
By Peter Weber, The Week US