Baker Picks Tisei
TAGS: Charlie Baker, Christy Mihos, Deval Patrick, MassGOP, Polls, Richard Tisei, Scott Brown.
Republican gubernatorial hopeful Charlie Baker has picked state Sen. Richard R. Tisei as his running mate, according to his campaign Web site and Facebook page.
An announcement is scheduled for 11 a.m. today at the American Civic Center in Tisei’s hometown of Wakefield, State House News is reporting.
Baker’s campaign manager could not be immediately reached for comment.
“Richard has years of experience fighting for the taxpayer on Beacon Hill and I’m thrilled to have him on the team,” Baker said in a statement posted on his campaign Web site.
The Web page contained on CharlieBaker2010.com included a photo of Tisei and an image of Baker-Tisei 2010 bumper sticker.
Baker and the Senate minority leader will take on convenience store magnate Christy Mihos in the Republican primary. The winner is set to face off against state Treasurer Timothy Cahill and incumbent Gov. Deval Patrick in a three-way contest in 2010.
I’m curious why Baker made this announcement now, instead of say, in late January or February. Baker has been trailing in the polls versus Christy Mihos since day one, and to make such an important announcement the week of Thanksgiving seems poorly timed. Baker may have been much better suited to have waited until after the US Senate Special Election. This would have accomplished two things.
First, that election would be over and done with. Right now, the special election is hot to trot, and the election is virtually around the corner; the gubernatorial contest isn’t for another 11+ months. What would the harm of been to wait two more months?
Second, of course, is knowing whether or not Scott Brown would be available as a running mate, should he even want it. Picking Brown, who would have just completed a fast-paced state wide campaign, would offer the campaign someone with some state-wide name recognition; I don’t think Tisei can offer that. There is a reason why Mihos is ahead of Baker in every poll…and it’s not because Mihos is a favorite of the MassGOP establishment. Tisei, the Senate Minority Leader, has served in the state senate for 25 years and is (still) up for reelection next year. If Baker-Tisei wins, that could lead to another lost Republican seat in the state senate. Why give up a seat in the senate held by a Republican for 25 years?
Additionally, by making the pick now, Baker has given Christy Mihos the opportunity to “out do” his choice of Tisei, as well as take advantage of the expected media attention while the gubernatorial race is hot on everyone’s minds. There’s something to be said about getting the last word.
Seeing as Baker has not seen a lead in the polls, ever, I’d say this was poorly played. Mihos still has the upper hand here…let’s see what he does with it.
[Editors Note: This post has been updated. It was previously stated that Scott Brown was not seeking reelection. To clarify, Scott Brown has said he will serve one more term in the State Senate, but is not seeking reelection in 2012.]
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Aaron Margolis is a life long resident of the Bay State, and works at an architectural firm north of Boston. Aaron has a Master of Architecture Degree from Boston Architectural College and is currently in the process of becoming of a Registered Architect.
I jump up and down over this stuff! When is the MAGOP going to wake up? With 11% of registered voters you think that they would take a minute and reflect on how their policy positions brought them to this.
The simple fact is that the MAGOP hasn’t realized that they are not conservative enough to garner more than 11% of registered voters. This Baker pick is just showing thos of us who are actually conservative that the MAGOP doesn’t care one bit about us.
The reason Baker made the announcement is simple. People can max out to Tsei in in 2009 and 2010. I would think such a smart poltical pundint like yourself would have been able to figure this out.