Polito may be out of governor's race, but she retains a $2 million war chest

Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito may not be running to occupy the corner office next year, but her campaign account has over $2 million as of the end of October for any future political endeavor.

In a joint statement, Polito and Gov. Charlie Baker announced Wednesday that they would not be running for executive office in 2022, sending shock waves across the state that the balance of power may shift even more to Democrats without the popular Republicans on top of the ticket..

In the statement and a press conference Wednesday afternoon, both said their decision was largely based on the need to focus on leading the state through the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. Baker and Polito also referenced how their jobs took away time from their families in Wednesday.

Neither Baker nor Polito signaled immediate interest in running for another office at the press conference, with Baker laughing off a question about a potential presidential bid.

Polito has been seen as Baker's most obvious successor for a Republican gubernatorial candidate, having served with Baker for nearly eight years and being more aligned with the moderate brand of politics that has driven Baker's success in an overwhelmingly Democratic state. Her joining Baker's decision to not run has been seen as particularly surprising.

Polito's fundraising throughout 2021 fueled speculation that she was preparing for a run for governor. She started the year with over $1.9 million on hand, raising over $50,000 in January, according to the state's Office of Campaign and Political Finance. June was Polito's heaviest month for fundraising, accruing over $156,000 over the course of the month. As of the end of October, Polito's political committee had a war chest of over $2.3 million.

Comparatively, Baker's committee started the year with over $596,000 on hand and his fundraising has generally been behind Polito's over the course of the year, with his expenditures being higher than Polito's. As of the end of October, Baker had over $684,000 on hand.

Polito's committee can continue to operate and manage the money it raised for any potential future campaigns as long as the committee does not notify the OCPF that she does not want to run for public office. Jason Tait, a spokesperson for the OCPF, said these rules are true for any individual in the state interested in public office.

"There may be a candidate who leaves officer or loses and says, 'You know what, I might run again,' " Tait said. "And then a year or two, three, four five passes and they say, 'Hey look, this office just opened up. I still have money in my campaign account, let's go for it.' "

Notification that a public official no longer is interested in running for office would start the dissolution of their committee, Tait said, where the money they have on hand will be used to pay off any debts accrued by the committee, and the remaining money will be either donated to charity, a scholarship fund, a municipality or the state.

Tait said that candidates can keep their raised money if they decide to pursue a different office from the one they last held; they just need to declare their intention to run for a different position. As of Thursday afternoon, Polito's committee remains registered for the office of lieutenant governor, according to the OCPF database.

Polito primarily resides in Shrewsbury and began her career in politics as a town meeting member and selectman in the town before representing it as a state representative. Her family also purchased a second residence in Dartmouth earlier this year.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito out of governor's race but retains $2M war chest