So is Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D-Mass.) in the running for the SCOTUS opening? Here is what his spokesman, Steve Crawford, told the BBR when asked if the governor was interested:
“The governor is focused on his job 120 percent.”
Not particularly revealing, but it certainly doesn’t rule out the possibility, does it?
Patrick would be an interesting choice. His pros are he worked for the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund and was the assistant attorney general for civil rights during the Clinton administration. Perhaps more importantly, he and Obama are pretty close, both have Harvard Law JDs and they shared strikingly similar campaign messages (the common denominator being David Axelrod). Patrick also endorsed Obama very early in the presidential race in a state that went for Hillary Clinton by 15 points in its primary.
And from Patrick’s point of view, the Supreme Court might be a welcome change from his current job. His approval numbers are in the toilet, the Bay State is in the middle of a budget disaster, he’s up for reelection next year and it looks like the Republicans’ dream candidate Charlie Baker, a healthcare CEO and veteran of previous Republican Massachusetts administrations, is taking steps toward running.
His cons touch upon the very thing that both he and Obama have campaigned against: identity politics. Simply put, he’s not Hispanic and he’s not a woman.