Could Deval Patrick be replaced by a real Governor this fall?

Just a few weeks ago, Massachusetts Republicans were all abuzz about Charles D. Baker Jr. and his chances at recapturing the governor’s office. Oh, the money he has raised, they would say. Oh, the grass-roots excitement that was brewing, they would crow.

Then Scott Brown came along and stole his thunder, unexpectedly winning a US Senate seat that Democrats had held for nearly 60 years.

This morning, Baker will try to ride the wave that Brown built, formally kicking off his gubernatorial campaign with a rally at Faneuil Hall, where he will surely draw on some of the themes that made Brown’s campaign so successful.

“They’re completely different races,’’ said Rob Gray, chief strategist for Baker’s campaign. “But they have one very large common denominator, which is that voters are angry and are predisposed to vote for the outsider over the insider.’’

But while Brown’s victory could certainly help Baker - it energized the party base, got more people involved, and persuaded Democrats to vote for a Republican - it could also present some challenges as the gubernatorial hopeful looks to expand his presence in the state.

Baker, who was all but invisible during Brown’s campaign, has a different persona, a different style, and, at least on social issues, different politics. While both GOP politicians have based their campaigns on antitax platforms, Baker is more socially liberal, most notably in his support for same-sex marriage.

UPDATE: More from the Herald and Globe.

SECOND UPDATE: More from the Herald and Globe.

THIRD UPDATE: More from the Herald and the Washington Post.