Republican Richard R. Tisei, a former Massachusetts Senate minority leader, is expected to officially announce his candidacy for the state's 6th Congressional District seat on Thursday. Tisei will challenge Rep. John F. Tierney (D), who narrowly defeated him in 2012.
A press release from Tisei's campaign on Wednesday highlighted the fact that he was endorsed by The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald and other newspapers the first time he challenged Tierney, who beat Tisei by just over 1 percentage point. Tierney has held the seat since 1997.
Tisei is expected to make the announcement in Wakefield, Mass., according to the Boston Globe. He would make history if elected; no openly gay Republican has ever has been elected to Congress. Tisei married his partner in July.
He told The Associated Press earlier this week that the GOP must do more to change the perception that,"we're the party that wants to deny people their rights and interfere with their personal lives."
As The Boston Globe reported, the district is the state’s least Democratic. Massachusetts hasn't elected a Republican to the House of Representatives since 1994.
The National Republican Campaign Committee launched a website earlier this month attacking Tierney for voting for a budget sponsored by the Democratic progressive caucus. In December, before Tisei had announced his candidacy, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released an ad criticizing Tisei for wanting to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Tierney has two challengers in the Democratic primary. Immigration lawyer Marisa DeFranco and former Marine Seth Moulton will face off against Tierney Sept. 9.
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