Statement from MassDems Chair Gus Bickford on Charlie Baker’s Attendance at Republican Governors Association Retreat

Statement from MassDems Chair Gus Bickford on Charlie Baker’s Attendance at Republican Governors Association Retreat

This week, Charlie Baker left Karyn Polito in charge of Massachusetts so that he could travel to Aspen and strategize with extremist Republican Governors at a RGA conference. The secretive meeting was held to support the reelection efforts of far-right Republicans, like Florida’s Ron DeSantis, also in attendance. Below is a statement from MassDems Chair Gus Bickford.

“The Republican Governors Association spent $17 million to support Charlie Baker’s candidacy, and now he’s returning the favor by helping re-elect his colleagues who believe the Big Lie that the election was stolen, who deny science and dismiss public health recommendations, who work overtime to make it harder to vote in their state. Baker isn’t just a participant at the RGA conference, he’s on its Executive Committee with other Republicans like Kristi Noem, who brags about her failure to heed COVID precautions, turning South Dakota into a COVID hotspot, and Greg Abbott, who’s infamous for forcing Democrats to leave Texas to prevent the passage of some of the harshest voting restrictions in the country. Baker’s leadership and support of the RGA helps fund the reelection efforts of people like Noem, Abbott and Trump-ally Ron DeSantis, who joined Baker in Aspen this week. Try as he might, Baker can’t hide that he’s backing up the most extreme Republican governors in the country. Pushing the Big Lie, denying science, and restricting voting rights have become the pillars of the Republican Party--and these are Charlie Baker’s people.”