Mass. Gov. Charle Baker: A poll in November found that, with a 74 percent approval rating, he was the most popular governor in the country.

The Boston Globe reports:

Since his election, Baker has crisscrossed the state, appearing at seemingly every swearing in of every town officer in Massachusetts. He has built an impressive social media operation that keeps residents apprised of his every move. And he has demanded accountability, as when he deemed the performance of the MBTA “unacceptable” during the record-breaking winter of 2015, all but pushing the T’s former general manager out of office. The results? A poll in November found that, with a 74 percent approval rating, he was the most popular governor in the country. This from a Republican in a deep blue state, at a time when American politics are poisonously partisan. “Charlie’s kind of a throwback, the resurrection of a pragmatic, moderate-centrist Republican who can work with Democrats,” says Paul Grogan, president of the Boston Foundation. “We used to have a lot of people like that around the country.”

“He’s pretty straightforward,” says Eileen McAnneny, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. “He calls it as he sees it, which is kind of refreshing. He clearly wants to govern, in all that entails.”

A star rising in the GOP.