That left the state in the hands of Mr Weld's loyal lieutenant-governor, Paul Cellucci.

ECONOMIST: The death penalty

Paul Cellucci, Mr Weld's faithful lieutenant-governor, will become acting governor for the rest of Mr Weld's term.

ECONOMIST: Massachusetts

The trend was set by centrist William Weld after he succeeded Michael Dukakis in 1990 and extended by Paul Cellucci.

CNN: Romney bailed out on Massachusetts

After the election, Bush went to Israel for a week with three other Governors--Racicot of Montana, Mike Leavitt of Utah and Paul Cellucci of Massachusetts.

CNN: Who chose George?

And on July 28th Mr Weld resigned as governor in order to dedicate himself full-time to fighting Mr Helms, leaving Massachusetts to Paul Cellucci, his loyal lieutenant-governor.

ECONOMIST: The Helms-Weld war

On April 10, Swift had already begun to ease up on her work schedule when she took over for then-Gov. Paul Cellucci who had resigned to become U.S. ambassador to Canada.

CNN: Motherhood plays political role in Massachusetts

Bush was also flanked by a number of prominent New England Republicans who have thrown their support his way: New Hampshire Congressman Charles Bass, Massachusetts Governor Paul Cellucci, and Senator Judd Gregg, also from the Granite State.

CNN: For Bush, a family affair in New Hampshire

"I believe the real state of our state will be measured by the state of our schools, " said Massachusetts Gov. Paul Cellucci, who is running for his first full term since taking over for former Gov. William Weld.

CNN