In the key electoral battleground of Gateway Cities, Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker holds an edge over Democrat Martha Coakley in major newspaper endorsements.
Baker was endorsed by the Standard-Times of New Bedford, the Enterprise in Brockton, the Republican in Springfield, the Eagle-Tribune (Andover-Lawrence), and jointly by the Sun (Lowell) and Sentinel & Enterprise (Fitchburg). Coakley was backed by the Herald News in Fall River and the Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield. The Telegram & Gazette in Worcester did not endorse any candidates for office this year, in keeping with a chain-wide policy of the newspaper’s new owner, Halifax Media of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Urban areas have become the new political battleground in Massachusetts. Voting overall in the state is becoming more partisan, so the key to victory is getting out the vote in areas that historically support the candidate and minimizing losses in the areas that don’t. Cities are where the bulk of votes are, which makes Baker’s path to victory all the more difficult because urban areas are turning more nonwhite and more Democratic. Baker has been campaigning hard in urban areas because, in order to win, he needs to either beat Coakley in those areas or cut into her victory margin.
In general, the editorials of the newspapers in the major Gateway Cities describe Coakley and Baker as competent and well-qualified, but there are nevertheless some major differences in perception of the two leading candidates for governor.
The Standard-Times editorial accepts that Baker is a convert to South Coast Rail, wind power, and the so-called New Bedford Commerce Terminal, which will cater to the offshore wind industry. The Herald News, by contrast, says credibility is a major issue for Baker, who tends “to say what everyone wants to hear… Has he really moderated his more conservative positions — including his major flip-flop from being against South Coast Rail to now being for it — or has he simply learned how to campaign more effectively in Massachusetts this time around?”
The Berkshire Eagle backs Coakley largely because she is likely to continue most of the initiatives of the Patrick administration, while the Enterprise backs Baker because “Massachusetts needs to move in a new direction. It’s time for the old guard of failed politics to step aside.” The Eagle-Tribune says much the same, questioning Coakley’s tax-and-spend ways.
The Sun supports Baker because it believes the checks and balances provided by a Republican governor on a Democratic Legislature have worked well in the past. The Herald News, however, said party balance shouldn’t be the only goal. “While only about one-third of this state’s registered voters are Republicans (with the majority registered as unenrolled voters), more than one-half of all of its residents are female. Yet Massachusetts has never elected a female governor.”
The Republican prefers Baker because he is more likely to seek consensus than Coakley the prosecutor. “Baker’s party affiliation is of little consequence, in our opinion,” the newspaper said. “We believe he can work with Democrats. We believe he can work with Republicans. We believe him when he tells us he has no litmus test as he thinks about appointing judges. He is also pro-business, a good thing for a state that is often considered to be anti-business.”
On the ballot questions, the Gateway City newspapers tend to be conservative. A majority of the newspapers favor repeal of gas tax indexing and oppose expansion of the bottle deposit law, repeal of casino gaming, and paid sick leave.
Of the nine major Gateway City newspaper, the Standard Times, Republican, and Berkshire Eagle oppose repeal of gas tax indexing. The Herald News, Berkshire Eagle, and the Enterprise favor expansion of the bottle deposit law. The Eagle-Tribune and Berkshire Eagle favor repeal of casino gaming. Paid sick leave is supported by the Herald News, Standard Times, Berkshire Eagle, and Enterprise.
In Boston, the Globe and Herald both support Baker, but they disagree on repeal of gas tax indexing (Herald for, Globe against), the bottle deposit law (Globe for expansion, Herald against), casino gaming (Globe against, Herald for), and paid sick leave (Globe for, Herald against).