"Elias Nugator" asks:
Does Charlie Baker really want another crack at the corner office in 2014? Or is some other republican out in the weeds thinking about the Governor's race?
"Chris Matthews" asks:
If Brown loses do you see him running for governor in 2014?
And via Twitter, "Fox Van Allen" asks:
Take on the GOP next -- Mary Z.? Is there really anyone else? Would she stand a chance in the general?
From what I've been told, Goodtime Charlie Baker is indeed keeping the door open for a 2014 redo, presumably under the theory that, unlike Martha Coakley, he at least didn't become a national punchline when he pissed away a high-profile election handed to him on a silver platter.
(Flashing through my head: Image of Tim Murray TV ad, fall 2014: "We balanced the budget -- and hey Charlie, we managed to do it without firing 5000 people, like you wanted to do.")
If it's true that Baker and/or his surrogates are telling key Republican insiders he's planning to run, or thinking of running, the effect (deliberately) is to shoo away everyone else in the party from seriously thinking of running. Which means they won't start doing the things they would need to do next year, which means that when Baker ultimately decides in mid-2013 not to run, those other potential candidates will be late starting, and will probably sit out.
I just have to pause for a moment to recall that after Baker (successfully) spent what, two years? clearing the field for himself last time, he launched his campaign with that pathetic, hastily-called, half-ass press conference in front of some ugly green or yellow wall. Oh my lord I crack up just thinking about it after all this time. Oh, Charlie, you are truly the killjoy of candidates.
Anyway, no I don't think Scott Brown will run for governor after we in the great liberal political-media coalition rig the election for Elizabeth Warren (oops! -- I've said too much); that dude is custom-built for a post-Senate lobbying career. No, Mary Z. Connaughton is not going to win the 2014 general, and I doubt she'll shoot for the nomination.
Here's my no-evidence, just-a-thought, putting-it-out-there idea: Sheriff Lew Evangelidis.
Which, aside from setting up a Worcester County bloodbath showdown if I'm right about LG Murray, would quite possibly give the GOP the greatest height advantage in the history of gubernatorial politics.
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