Despite Massachusetts's Democratic lean at the presidential level, Charlie Baker retained high approval ratings and was expected to safely win re-election.

Shortly after polls closed at 8 p.m. local time, the Associated Press declared the race in favor of incumbents Baker and Polito.

[4] Baker almost won Boston, losing it by only around 3,000 votes, an extraordinary showing for a statewide Republican candidate in a major city.

Charlie Baker was elected in 2014 by a slim margin over then-Attorney General Martha Coakley; however, he was consistently rated as one of the most popular governors in the country.

[13] Following his 2016 election, Barnstable County Commissioner Ron Beaty, who once was tried and convicted for threatening the life of President George H. W. Bush,[14] had been making local and state headlines.

[17] Scott Lively, an evangelical pastor, challenged Baker and received more than the 15% of delegate votes necessary at the state convention to qualify for ballot access.

[29] Samantha Lachman of The Huffington Post also identified Healey as a potential candidate for governor in 2018 or in a future United States Senate race.

[33] At the Massachusetts Democratic Convention in June, party delegates endorsed Gonzalez and Palfrey, but Bob Massie and Jimmy Tingle also surpassed the 15% threshold for ballot access by comfortable margins.

indicated that the contest for the Democratic nomination in the gubernatorial race was a toss-up, with Massie and Gonzalez being separated by a percentage smaller than the margin of error.