Baker, no fan of Trump, faces a tough choice in November
While the popular chief executive loves playing up his bipartisan roots in liberal-leaning Massachusetts, the Republican is finding his loyalty to his national party severely tested by Donald Trump.
Baker said he won't be attending the Republican National Convention, focusing instead on electing Republicans to seats in the state Legislature, where Democrats hold overwhelming majorities.
The state's last Republican governor and the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, is one of Trump's harshest critics, delivering a blistering takedown of Trump earlier this year.
The Whitman Republican pledged to make sure as many Trump loyalists as possible were elected to serve as delegates from Massachusetts to help Trump survive a second vote at a contested national convention — now no longer a worry.