Newton Mayor Setti Warren Forms Finance Committee For Possible Gubernatorial Campaign

NEWTON, Mass. (AP) — Newton Mayor Setti Warren is taking a significant step toward a potential run for governor.

The Democrat announced Monday that he is forming a finance committee as he continues to explore whether to seek the state's top office next year.

The 40-member committee includes several big name Democrats, among them former Gov. Michael Dukakis and his wife, Kitty. Also on the list is former state treasurer and one-time Democratic National Committee chair Steve Grossman, and Thurgood Marshall, Jr., son of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.

If Warren runs, the two-term mayor will be opposed for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination by former state budget director Jay Gonzalez and possibly others.

Republican Gov. Charlie Baker is expected to seek re-election to a second term in 2018.