GOP firebrand moves to outflank Baker among conservatives

May 21--BOSTON -- Firebrand pastor Scott Lively is waging a long-shot campaign to oust incumbent Gov. Charlie Baker by trying to drive a wedge between the popular GOP leader and conservatives, whom he argues are chaffing over Baker's efforts to rebrand the state's Republican Party.

Lively, who shocked political observers by picking up nearly 30 percent of the votes at the GOP state convention this spring, says conservatives haven't forgotten that Baker thrust himself into local party races two years ago by drumming up money and doling out endorsements to moderate candidates.

He expects the issue to be a major factor when voters go to the polls for the Sept. 4 GOP primary.

"Charlie Baker has totally betrayed the Republican base," Lively, of Springfield, said in an interview. "He's really a Democrat in Republican clothing."

Baker has shrugged off the attacks, suggesting that Lively isn't fit to be running for elected office in Massachusetts, or elsewhere.

"There's no place and no point in public life for a lot of the things Scott Lively says and believes," Baker told reporters recently, when asked about Lively's support among conservatives at the state convention. "A lot of what he says, a lot of what he believes, doesn't belong in public discourse."

Lively is a controversial figure, even by conservative standards. He has called homosexuality a "crime" and "blasphemy," and he penned a book arguing that the Nazi Party in World War II Germany was controlled by gay men. He supported anti-LGBT legislation in Uganda that called for the death penalty.

But his candidacy has given voice to conservatives upset at Baker for distancing himself from social issues they feel strongly about, from abortion to illegal immigration to welfare reform.

Baker's public opposition to many of Republican President Donald Trump's policies hasn't helped his cred among the right wing of the party, either.

"They're disappointed that he hasn't dealt with a lot of the social and fiscal issues, such as controlling state spending," said Ted Tripp, a member of the Merrimack Valley Tea Party. "There's a number of things conservatives are unhappy with, including his lack of support for President Trump."

Though he lost the state to Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, Trump's supporters cast more than 1 million votes for the real estate mogul in Massachusetts. Trump also handily won the state's GOP presidential primary earlier that year, among nearly a dozen candidates.

But Tripp, who backs Baker over Lively, said he doubts the opposition from some conservatives will be enough to deny Baker a second term as governor.

"It all boils down to whether conservatives will show up to vote in primary or decide to sit it out," he said. "That remains to be seen."

Baker edged out Democrat Martha Coakley for the governor's office four years ago, but his popularity remains at astronomical highs. A poll earlier this spring put his approval rating above 70 percent -- better than any other U.S. governor, according to the research and political reporting group Morning Consult.

Should Baker and his running mate, Lt. Gov. Karen Polito, a Shrewsbury Republican, win the GOP primary in their bid for a second term, they will face the winners of the Democratic gubernatorial primary between Jay Gonzalez and Bob Massie.

Democrats Quentin Palfrey and Jimmy Tingle are among those running separately for the lieutenant governor's job.

A Baker-Polito campaign spokesman said the duo are "proud to have broad support for their bipartisan approach to governing and focus on the priorities that matter for the people of Massachusetts."

"They look forward to building on their record, and making the case with voters for re-election in November," Terry MacCormack said in a statement.

The Republican Party has spent years trying to make inroads in liberal, Democratic-leaning Massachusetts, where it currently holds no statewide seats besides the governor's office, and none in the state's congressional delegation.

Republicans are outnumbered 5-to-1 in the state Legislature.

In an effort to give the party broader appeal in Massachusetts, Baker has focused on fiscal discipline and economic growth while avoiding thorny social issues, such as abortion and same sex marriage, that are central elements of the GOP's national platform.

His involvement in state committee contests traced to the party's convention in 2014, when he and other moderates were outraged as a majority of committee members adopted a socially conservative platform. It cited the party's opposition to abortion, among other affirmations.

Baker, who is pro-abortion rights and supports gay marriage, distanced himself from the platform, as did many other Republican leaders, including state Republican Chairwoman Kirsten Hughes and former Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei, Baker's running mate in the 2010 gubernatorial race.

In the party elections in May 2016, Baker backed a roster of moderates against conservatives running for seats on the party's 80-member governing body. At least 51 of 74 candidates endorsed by Baker won or retained seats, according to party officials.

Lively says conservatives went out on a limb to help get Baker elected, returning a Republican to the governor's office for the first time in a decade.

He said Baker should have remained neutral in the committee races, and his involvement still riles conservative activists two years later.

"The money that he spent trying to take out the conservatives could have been spent on statewide races that ultimately went to Democrats because there wasn't enough funding to support Republicans," he said. "Conservatives haven't forgotten about that, and they will remember it when they go to vote."

Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group's newspapers and websites. Email him at [email protected].

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