What's going on with the Governors' races in New England?

[pnwmom]

Why are the R's so far ahead?

It seems weird that we're so much closer to winning in red Georgia than in "blue" VT, NH, and MA.

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2018-midterm-election-forecast/governor/?ex_cid=midterms-header

[leftieNanner]

1. My daughter lives in Mass and she said the Dem

is kind of an idiot. She will vote for the person, but says Charlie will likely win again.

For such a reliably blue state, Massachusetts has put forth some pretty odd candidates.

[Ms. Toad]

8. I get that.

A few years ago I voted for the idiot, but I presumed reliable, Democrat. Unfortunately, he was too much of an idiot to reliably promote and/or vote for Democratic ideals. The damage done by the idiot was far worse than the damage done by the Republican (who roundly defeated the idiot the next time around).

Obviously, I would prefer a non-idiotic democrat. But I understand the hesitancy to vote for an idiot.

[hack89]

2. We have a long history of electing Republican governors

This time around the Republican candidates have distanced themselves from trump

[LBM20]

5. I have long ties to Mass. Went to college there, relatives, friends, etc. They like moderate R govs.

[hack89]

6. I live in RI. I have seen plenty of Republican governors. Nt

[RhodeIslandOne]

3. Charlie Baker is extremely popular.

There's even an ad featuring people claiming to be proud and longtime Democrats all saying they are voting for him.

His opponent is basically the only guy willing to bother taking a chance.

[Awsi Dooger]

9. I got sick of hearing about Baker when I was in Boston for a week recently

I saw that commercial with all the pro-Baker Democrats countless times

[Agschmid]

11. This.

He effectively is almost running unopposed.

[Blue_true]

4. Republican candidate for governor there run as moderates.

If they also govern as moderates, they are hard to beat. In the south the contrast is sharper and as the region changes demographically, democrats are having more success.

[DonViejo]

7. They are what is known as "Yankee Republicans;" liberal on social issues and somewhat

conservative on economics.

[OAITW r.2.0]

10. My impression of Charlie Baker ( as a Mainiac who votes absentee in ME)...

he comes across as a "people person" with policy wonk creds. Hard to hate him because he seems to know that he is in a Big Blue State and doesn't try to piss off the majority by being hyper-partisan (unlike the current ME Governor, Paul "LeClown" LePage).

Good News is, he has hit his ceiling. He could go to Washington, but it won't be via the election route. He'd get primaried by the core Trump activists. If he did survive, MA Democrats are smart enough to know that he won't be a reliable Democratic vote in Congress.

His path to a national political future is via an Independent 3rd Party where he can shed his Republican past.

[Green Line]

12. I'm in MA

I have Republican relatives, none of them like Charlie Baker they think he’s too far left.

[Atman]

13. I recently moved to NH, from super-blue CT.

It's very different up here. Two houses on my street (a short little dirt road off another long dirt road) fly the Don't Tread On Me flag. We live on a beautiful lake in a private neighborhood in the mountains...I wonder why they feel so oppressed? There aren't even any income or sales taxes here! NH has always been pretty Red.