Gov. Baker, Sen. Warren Declared Winners in Mid-Term Election
BOSTON — Gov. Charlie Baker, a moderate Republican popular with voters in heavily Democratic Massachusetts, has been re-elected to a second four-year term.
Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito turned back a challenge Tuesday from Democrat Jay Gonzalez, a former state budget official, and his running mate, Quentin Palfrey.
Baker touted the state's strong economy and low unemployment, his administration's progress in stabilizing the state's finances without broad tax increases, and steps taken to tackle the opioid addiction crisis.
He has been a frequent critic of President Donald Trump, who is unpopular in Massachusetts. But Gonzalez criticized Baker for endorsing other pro-Trump Republicans, including U.S. Senate candidate Geoff Diehl.
Gonzalez called for $3 billion in new taxes to improve education and transportation, and supported a single-payer health care system.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, among her party's harshest critics of President Donald Trump, has won re-election in Massachusetts.
Warren on Tuesday defeated Republican state Rep. Geoff Diehl, the Massachusetts co-chair of Trump's 2016 campaign, and independent Shiva Ayaddurai.
Warren has generated considerable speculation about a possible run for the White House in 2020, recently saying she'd take a ``hard look'' at a presidential bid after the Senate race was over.
The former Harvard Law School professor recently released a DNA test suggesting that a distant ancestor was Native American, an effort to rebut Trump's frequent mockery of her claim to Native American heritage.
Diehl claimed Warren was ready to abandon Massachusetts to run for president.
Warren countered that Diehl, if elected, would be a rubber stamp in Washington for Trump's agenda.