As Jim Geraghty notes over at the Campaign Spot, the race for Massachusetts governor is heating up. Yesterday, Charlie Baker, the relatively unknown CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, announced his plans to face off against Christy Mihos in the Republican primary, in hopes of challenging incumbent Democrat Deval Patrick in the general election.

As the CEO of a major regional insurance company, Baker’s a health-care guy, and that’s very important in Massachusetts. Under Patrick, the Bay State has struggled to effectively institute the comprehensive health-care plan devised by former governor Mitt Romney. Though Massachusetts has achieved nearly universal health-care coverage for its residents, the state is now grappling with the high costs.

Judging by this 2006 interview with Boston magazine, Baker may be the one candidate who can inject some common sense into the debate. Though he stressed the need for large-scale reform, Baker also warned of the dangers of a system in which bureaucrats rather than doctors are making health-care decisions.

Governor Patrick’s poll numbers are low; one survey this spring found that less than 30 percent of Massachusetts residents approve of his job performance. In March, Patrick deflected nearly $800 million from his state’s share of the economic-stimulus bill in order to keep Massachusetts health-care workers afloat. That doesn’t bode well for the long-term sustainability of RomneyCare.

At any rate, this may be a race to watch. – Lucy Morrow Caldwell is an intern at National Review.