Harvard Pilgrim CEO Charlie Baker announced today that he is a candidate for Governor on the Republican side, creating a stir amongst Republicans hopeful that he can bring the Governor’s job back to the G.O.P. Baker sent an email to his employees at Harvard Pilgrim, excerpted below.

For the past ten years, I have had the privilege of serving as the CEO of this very special organization. And trust me on this one – it’s been an honor to serve with each and every one of you. Harvard Pilgrim, more than any organization I’ve ever worked for, tries to live up to its mission every single day. It really is all about solving problems and getting stuff done. And most of the time, it works – because you make it work. Yes – we went through some pretty tough times “back in the day,” but for the past six or seven years, we’ve made adjustments, re-worked our business model, changed with the times (mostly), and, as a result, have been selected as the #1 Health Plan in America for five years in a row.

That kind of excellence over time is sort of about leadership, management and luck – but it’s mostly about you. You make it happen, and for that, I want to say “thanks.” You made the boss look good(!). But I also want to express my appreciation on behalf of our leadership team, our managers, our customers, our provider partners, our friends in the broker community, our members, and our partners in community service. When you perform, they (and we) all benefit.

Therefore, it’s a bit difficult for me to tell you all that my time here is almost over. I’ll be leaving at the end of next week (July 17th) to put together a statewide campaign for Governor. I know you know I’ve given this issue a lot of thought, and in the end, I love working here. But I also recognize the terrible financial and operational strain that will face state and local government in the years ahead. I know both sectors pretty well – better than most, I would say – and I believe I can bring ideas, energy and leadership to the tasks that face state government in the years ahead.

Charles Baker has served in the administrations of Governors Weld and Cellucci, first as Secretary of Health and Human Services and then as Secretary of Administration and Finance. He is a Harvard graduate with a Masters in Public Administration.

Baker’s entrance now casts some real doubt on the Cahill strategy, as I see Baker as a real and credible threat who will be able to raise more than enough money to be competitive. It is not possible to marginalize Charlie Baker, which gives us a three way race that I believe gives Governor Patrick an edge. Now would be an interesting time to do a statewide survey of that three way race. As you might have surmised I do not give Christy Mihos much of a chance to beat Baker in a Republican primary.