Attorney General Martha Coakley said today she plans to decide by the end of September whether to jump into the race to replace Gov. Deval Patrick, a sign the post-Labor Day political push is already underway in the Bay State’s most closely watched campaign.
Coakley, speaking to reporters at the Greater Boston Labor Council’s annual Labor Day Breakfast, emphasized she is still “seriously considering” whether to run — without offering any more insight on whether the months spent mulling have pushed her closer to a campaign for the Corner Office.
Asked when she would decide, Coakley said, “I would say by the end of this month.”
That sets for the first time a timeline — even if still vague — for a possible announcement by Coakley, whose candidacy would reshape a fledging field whose biggest name to date is state Treasurer Steve Grossman.
U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano also continues to weigh a potential bid, but remained coy today, saying he only intends to decide “soon.”
“I know Labor Day is here and people again are focused on politics. Now is the time to make the decisions,” Capuano said at the Boston Park Plaza.
Asked when he considers it too late to jump in, the Somerville Democrat smiled and responded, “the day after an election.”
The Republican ticket is also in flux, with 2010 gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker widely expected this week to announce a second bid.
But when and how he’ll do it remains unclear. Baker had originally set Labor Day as his deadline, but indicated in a WGBH radio interview last week he could let the public announcement “slip” until after the holiday.
“As I have told you and others before, (my wife) Lauren and I will have something to say about our future plans after Labor Day,” Baker said in an email today.
The Herald has reported that Baker has already set up a campaign headquarters on Commonwealth Avenue, and many in the party expect him to run in the wake of the announcement by former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown last month that he will not seek the gubernatorial nomination.
On the Democratic side, the race also includes former Obama administration official Don Berwick; Juliette Kayyem, a former homeland security official; and Joe Avellone, a former Wellesley selectman.
State Sen. Dan Wolf suspended his campaign late last month amid a dispute with the state Ethics Commission regarding his holdings in Cape Air and the potential for a conflict of interest, given the airlines’ contracts with Massport.