Will Charlie Baker seek a third term as governor of Massachusetts, or will lieutenant governor (and fellow Republican) Karyn Polito run for the state’s top office?
That remains unclear. Neither politician has announced plans for next year. Baker said last year that his answer to a third term was “definitely not a no.” Meanwhile, Polito has not made any statement on the matter and has not filed to run for governor.
One thing worth noting, however, is how both candidates are doing in terms of fund raising this year. Through the first two months of 2021, Polito has outraised Baker — and she has a much larger campaign account, according to the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance.
So just how much did each candidate raise in January and February?
For Polito, that number is $119,272.80. As for Baker, it’s far less: $77,230.24.
In January, Polito raised $50,080 while Baker pulled in $41,213.44. The following month, Polito got $69,192.80 in campaign contributions. That was nearly double the $36,016.80 that Baker raised in those same 28 days.
Although former state representative Geoff Diehl of Whitman has expressed interest in running for governor, he does not have an active state campaign account yet, so he did not garner any campaign donations last month.
On the Democratic side, however, two of the three candidates who have announced they’re running also raised large substantial amounts of money.
Former state senator Benjamin Downing (previously of Pittsfield, now living in East Boston) opened his campaign account only a month ago, on February 8, but still vastly out-raised everyone else in February. He raised $116,721.98, according to his Office of Campaign and Political Finance report.
As for Harvard professor Danielle Allen, who is exploring a run for governor and has been since December 2020, she also out-raised Baker and Polito in the first two months of 2021. She raised $54,465.34 in January and $69,547.79 in February, according to her state campaign finance reports. That’s a total of $124,013.13 — about $5,000 more than Polito raised in that same timeframe.
The other Democrat who has filed to run, Quincy resident Scott Khourie, had no reported campaign donations or expenditures for the second straight month, even though he filed in December 2020. His campaign account has $20 in it, according to the Office of Campaign and Political Finance. He donated that $20 from his personal bank account to his campaign account.
Another Democrat, Melrose resident Scott Donohue, filed a statement of organization to run for governor on February 25. However, his campaign has not (as of Monday, March 8) filed a February 2021 campaign finance report, Office of Campaign and Political Finance records show.
Additional candidates are expected to run for governor in 2022.
