SPRINGFIELD — Hundreds of Republicans were arriving here for the Massachusetts GOP convention, a day-long confab where activists are expected to endorse a Donald Trump-backed conservative for governor and chart a path to November.

Geoff Diehl, a former Whitman state lawmaker who’s trumpeted Trump’s false claims the 2020 election was rigged, is the heavy favorite to win the party’s backing for governor over Chris Doughty, a Wrentham business owner running for office for the first time.

It would mark a drastic departure for a party that, since 2010, has turned to Governor Charlie Baker as its standard-bearer. The moderate second-term Republican, and the party’s nominee each of the last three cycles, is not seeking reelection. And in a sign of intense friction between Baker and the party’s conservative leadership, neither he nor Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito plan to attend Saturday’s convention.

The gubernatorial race is one of just two statewide contests that feature multiple Republicans; former lawmakers Leah Allen and Kate Campanale — Diehl and Doughty’s hand-picked running mates, respectively — are vying for the party’s endorsement for lieutenant governor.

Candidates need at least 15 percent of the delegates vote to qualify for September’s primary ballot, and a majority to win the endorsement. Doughty said this week he was facing an “uphill battle” to qualify for the ballot. Organizers told the Globe this week they expected roughly 1,600 delegates to attend the...

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