BOB SALSBERG, Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) — Republican Gov. Charlie Baker said Wednesday he’s not willing to vote in November for Donald Trump if the GOP presidential front-runner emerges as the party’s nominee.
Trump won seven Super Tuesday primaries, including Massachusetts.
Baker, a moderate, made the comment Wednesday in response to a question. He is the first Republican governor to state publicly that he would not vote for the New York billionaire, though others have declined to say what they might do if Trump gets the nomination.
“I said I wasn’t going to vote for Trump (on Tuesday), and I’m not going to vote for him in November,” Baker told a group of reporters after reading to students at an elementary school in North Andover.
The first-term governor quickly added that he is not close to conceding that Trump will be the nominee.
“I’m not willing to concede that the Republican nomination is over, and frankly you guys shouldn’t either,” he said. “You’ve got 35 states left to play here, more than half the delegates. The winner-takes-all states haven’t even started yet.”
Baker has not said who he voted for in Tuesday’s primary. He indicated on Monday that his vote would go to either U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida or Ohio Gov John Kasich.
Trump won a clear cut victory in Massachusetts, with unofficial returns giving him just under 50 percent of the vote. Kasich and Rubio were in a virtual tie for second place with about 18 percent. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton also won seven Super Tuesday states, including a narrow Massachusetts victory over U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
Baker, who has questioned whether Trump has the proper temperament to be president, endorsed New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in the days leading up to the New Hampshire primary last month. Christie dropped out of the race after a poor showing in New Hampshire and has since endorsed Trump.
Baker did not directly answer when asked if he’d consider backing a Democrat if Trump became the GOP nominee. He said he’s “not much of a fan of Hillary Clinton,” but did not elaborate.
