As the 2026 midterm elections loom in the distance, a just released UMass Amherst poll shows former Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker running in a dead heat in a theoretical race against U.S. Sen. Ed Markey.
According to the poll, Baker, who left office as the most popular governor in the country, would net 33% of the vote compared to Markey’s 35%, with the remaining 33% of those polled unsure when given those options.
There’s just one problem with the poll, according to a spokesman for the former governor: Baker isn’t going to run for the Senate in 2026.
“Governor Baker does not intend to run for the Senate,” former Baker campaign manager Jim Conroy told the Herald.
Markey, the state’s junior senator, has been seen as somewhat vulnerable in his position as he gears up to seek a third term in the Senate in 2026, when he will be 80 years old.
The Malden native has been a fixture in Massachusetts politics for decades, after serving nearly 19 two-year terms in the House. The last year Markey serves in this six-year term will represent his 50th as a member of the Bay State’s congressional delegation.
He has won two reelections to the Senate, holding onto the seat he won through a special election in 2013, after then-U.S. Sen. John Kerry was made Secretary of State in the Obama Administration.
The senator maintains that it isn’t the age of the candidate that matters, but the age of their ideas, and he’s gone to great lengths to partner with the likes of New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on the Green New Deal. According to Markey, his age isn’t an impediment to his ability to do his job, and he’s said on several occasions that he feels more energized than he ever has in his career.
“I’m ready for the fight, I’ve never been more energized, and I’m ready to stand for reelection and that is my full intention,” Markey said when announcing his candidacy in October.
Baker left the governor’s office after choosing not to participate in the Republican primary, and despite the fact that poll after poll showed him as the most popular executive office holder in the country. Since then he’s been leading the NCAA as president and serves on the board of the UnitedHealth Group.
Tuesday’s poll is not the first to show Baker making a good showing against Markey, despite his apparent disinterest in the position. A poll released in November by the MassINC Polling Group showed Baker ahead of Markey, 40% to 34%.