Politics

Democratic consultant says Marty Walsh is telling people he wants to run for Massachusetts governor

"Marty Walsh is trying to get into this race."

By Nik DeCosta-Klipa

December 1, 2021

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Gov. Charlie Baker’s announcement Wednesday morning that he won’t run for a third term sent ripples across Massachusetts… and also Washington, D.C.?

In the wake of Baker’s decision, former Boston mayor and current U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh is reportedly expressing interest in joining the likely growing field of candidates to be Massachusetts governor.

“Marty Walsh, for several weeks now, perhaps a little over a month, has been telling people he wants to come back to Boston, wants to come home, and he wants to run for governor,” Democratic political consultant Mary Anne Marsh said during an appearance Wednesday afternoon on WCVB.

Marsh added that in the last 24 to 48 hours, people around Walsh have been talking about a poll “showing him in great shape statewide” and pointing to the amount of money that Walsh has in his campaign bank account. The Boston Democrat, who had planned to run for a third term as mayor before President Joe Biden appointed him to be labor secretary, still had $633,232 in his campaign account at the end of October, according to state records.

“Marty Walsh is trying to get into this race,” Marsh added.

Her comments came just a few hours after Joe Szymanski, a college journalist who correctly reported Baker’s decision Tuesday night, tweeted Wednesday that Walsh was “strongly considering” a run for governor.

Walsh’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

As labor secretary, Walsh has continued living in Boston, staying at hotels when he is in Washington, D.C., or on the road to promote Biden’s agenda.

And Politico reported last month that the 54-year-old Dorchester native “has made clear he wants to run for office again someday,” though the exact election cycle or office remained unclear. With Baker’s plans uncertain at the time, Politico said that local Democrats believed Walsh was unlikely to run for anything in 2022.

It’s unclear if an incumbent-free race looming in 2022 would change things.

Walsh’s reported interest adds to a sudden flurry of speculation Wednesday about who might join the field of gubernatorial hopefuls, which currently includes three Democratic candidates — former state senator Ben Downing, Harvard professor Danielle Allen, and state Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz — and one Republican candidate, former state representative Geoff Diehl.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey also said Wednesday on Bloomberg TV that she will announce whether she’ll run for governor “soon.”

If she runs, Healey “would be in the driver’s seat in this race,” Marsh said Wednesday. And apparently Walsh knows it; shortly after the speculation began Wednesday, GBH reported that Walsh would support Healey if she runs.

“Marty is extremely happy serving in the cabinet,” a source close to Walsh told GBH.

Baker told reporters Wednesday afternoon that Walsh was among the local elected officials he called earlier in the day, but that the former mayor’s potential interest in the corner office didn’t come up. The Republican governor, who shared what some dubbed a “bromance” with Walsh, said their conversation Wednesday was mostly lighthearted.

“It was a series of humorous anecdotes about moments that we’d worked together on,” Baker said.