Charlie Baker and his wife, Lauren, were home Thursday, reflecting on his last race, and getting ready for this one.
"Whatever it was we were supposed to do to help people get a sense of who I am and what I care about, we need to do a better job on that and we're going to this time," Baker said
What’s the difference between the real Charlie Baker and the Charlie Baker we saw in the last election?
"The Charlie Baker I know has a huge heart and would do anything to help another person,” Lauren Baker said.
Why didn't he show that the last time?
“Beginners’ misfortune,” Charlie Baker said. “I learned a lot about being a candidate, but a lot of what I learned I learned too late or after the race."
State democrats are already attacking Baker, in a video accusing him of understating his role in financing the big dig.
The issue hurt him in 2010; but baker doesn’t sound worried about 2014.
"I just think if people want to focus on the big dig on their side, that's fine, ok. I'm going to talk about where we need to take the state because I think that’s frankly what most voters are interested in."
Baker is a socially moderate, fiscally conservative republican. If elected, he would lead like his mentor, former governor bill weld:
"I think the bi-partisan leadership we had in Massachusetts around education reform, and worker's comp reform, and county government consolidation, and health care reform, those were sustainable, meaningful reforms that gave Massachusetts, I think, a great platform on which to be successful going forward, and that's what I think this is about," Charlie Baker said.
A Spanish novelist wrote, "There are no second chances in life" but he wasn't a political reporter, and I’m here to tell you, for candidates, there can be.
Charlie baker will be better in 2014 than he was in 2010…and that may be good enough to win.