More Warning Signs for Charlie Baker as Donald Trump Endorses Far-Right Challenger Geoff Diehl

Gov. Charlie Baker continues to be in increasingly more trouble if he decides to run again, as Donald Trump endorsed his extremist primary challenger Geoff Diehl yesterday.

“Trump’s endorsement of the conservative Diehl arrives amid deep divisions in the Massachusetts Republican Party, which is split between Trump loyalists and moderates who back Baker,” warns the Boston Globe.

In addition to anemic fundraising and sinking polling, this is the latest warning sign for Baker after Diehl announced his candidacy in June without waiting for the governor to decide on a reelection run, which prompted a columnist with the Boston Herald to note that: “Baker has alienated so many Republicans … he’s made himself vulnerable in a likely small-turnout GOP primary.”

Overall, Baker has become a punching bag for a huge part of his own party, particularly the party chair Jim Lyons, who has even attempted to undermine Baker’s authority by excluding him from the party endorsement process.

“Donald Trump’s endorsement of Geoff Diehl isn’t surprising — but it’s still bad news for Charlie Baker, who is at just the beginning of a brutal Republican primary, where he’ll be attacked from every angle,” said DGA Deputy Communications Director Sam Newton. “If Baker decides to run, this Republican infighting will leave their party divided, disorganized, and make it even more difficult for Baker to defend his failed record, including controversial state contracts and his failures to fix the state’s crumbling transportation systems.”

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