Charlie Baker Declares He Won’t Support Donald Trump in November

Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito. Photo by Garrett Quinn

Governor Charlie Baker told a gaggle of reporters at a North Andover elementary school on Wednesday that he will not support Donald Trump in November if he is the presidential nominee of the Republican Party.

“I said I wasn’t going to vote for Donald Trump yesterday and I didn’t, and I don’t plan to vote for him in November, but I’m not willing to concede with 35 states to go that he is going to be the Republican nominee,” said Baker, according to the State House News Service.

Baker stopped short of endorsing another candidate in the race or declaring who he would vote for this fall. Earlier, he had endorsed New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie days before the New Hampshire primary. As we all know now, Christie dropped out after doing poorly in the Granite State and later went on to endorse Trump. Baker said he was “surprised” by his friend’s endorsement of the New York reality television star.

So, if Baker isn’t voting for Trump in November, does that mean he is voting for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee?

“I’m not much of a fan of Hillary Clinton, let’s put it that way,” said Baker.

The comments from Baker now place him firmly in the growing #NeverTrump camp in the Republican Party and national conservative movement. Trump’s toxicity as a candidate has united a hodgepodge of conservatives in the Republican Party in an effort to derail his campaign before it is too late. Many have declared they will not support Trump in November if he is the nominee, opting instead to stay home on Election Day or vote for a conservative third party candidate.

Trump won 49.3 percent of the vote in Massachusetts on Tuesday, enough to take home 22 of the state’s delegates.