In his second bid to challenge longtime incumbent Rep. Paul Schmid (D-Westport), the young Republican challenger Evan Gendreau of Westport revealed on WBSM's SouthCoast Tonight that he received a major endorsement of his candidacy to represent 8th Bristol District on Beacon Hill.

"Tonight I'm proud to announce that Governor (Charlie Baker) and Lieutenant Governor (Karyn Polito) have endorsed our campaign for state representative in this district," Gendreau said. "The governor has always been committed to the SouthCoast, and I think SouthCoast communities have always had a strong partner in the Baker-Polito Administration. So I'm very grateful to his support of our campaign and his dedication to the SouthCoast."

The outgoing governor has been frugal with his endorsements of candidates on the Republican ticket this year. On the statewide ballot, Baker has declined to make an endorsement in contested races for Massachusetts Governor and Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State, and has only endorsed Republican State Auditor candidate Anthony Amore.

For candidates running for office on the SouthCoast, Baker has also put his support behind Bristol County Sheriff Tom Hodgson and Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz in their bids for reelection.

Gendreau attributed his campaign's endorsement from Baker and Polito to the political values and policy priorities that he shares with them.

"There's certainly a lot of things in our campaign that are issues the Governor and Lieutenant Governor have championed over their last eight years in office," Gendreau said. "Fiscal responsibility, accountability, transparency, public safety, transportation, infrastructure. Those are all initiatives that the Baker-Polito Administration has really emphasized over the last eight years, and it's something that we're looking to continue if we win this seat in November."

The 8th Bristol District consists of the town of Westport and select precincts of Fall River, Freetown, New Bedford, and Acushnet. You can find out which legislative district you live in here. Election day is Tuesday, November 8.

Listen to Chris McCarthy and Marcus Ferro's interview with Evan Gendreau.