Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker faces a new political challenge in the months ahead: working with Beacon Hill Democrats to get what he wants during crunch time in the 2015-2016 session while also working to unseat some of those same Democrats with members of the Republican grassroots he’s trying to cultivate with his recent takeover of the GOP state committee. The approaching presidential election, which is shaping up as a battle between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, further complicates things for Baker. A high turnout election in which Clinton would be favored in Massachusetts would not necessarily bode well for down-ballot Republican candidates.
The week ahead will bring some definition to any potential Team Baker slates of legislative candidates. Given the 125-34 advantage Democrats hold in the House and their 33-5 margin in the Senate, Republicans have a long way to go to reach the kind of numbers they’d need to be able to sustain a GOP governor’s veto on a party line vote. With the full 160 members in the House and 40 in the Senate and all members voting, 54 votes are needed in the House to sustain and 14 in the Senate. Gov. William Weld had a short-lived block in the Senate in 1991-1992 able to sustain vetoes.
House and Senate members running to keep their seats and those hoping to unseat them have until Tuesday to submit nomination signatures needed to ensure ballot access. The deadline will also bring into focus the fields of candidates for county offices, including sheriff and district attorney, and Governor’s Council. The deadline falls as current members of the Legislature work on end-of-session priorities, which include the fiscal 2017 budget, an omnibus energy bill, bills to regulate the ride-hailing industries, a transgender rights bill, and legislation updating the state’s antiquated public records law.
Click on the audio player above to hear State House News Service reporter Matt Murphy talk Beacon Hill politics with NEPR’s Henry Epp.