Does your state lean blue or lean red? Check out our new report, highlighting partisan control of state government from 1992-2013.
Richard Tisei
| Richard Tisei | ||
 | ||
| Candidate for | ||
| U.S. House, Massachusetts, District 6 | ||
| Party | Republican | |
| Prior offices | ||
| Massachusetts State Senate | ||
| 1991-2011 | ||
| Education | ||
| High school | Lynnfield High School | |
| Bachelor's | American University | |
| Personal | ||
| Birthday | August 13, 1962 | |
| Place of birth | Somerville, MA | |
| Profession | Real Estate Broker | |
| Websites | ||
| Campaign website | ||
Error creating thumbnail: File seems to be missing: /var/www/ballotpedia/public_html/wiki/images/Richard_Tisei_Logo.png  | ||
Contents |
.png){kind=avatar} |
The information about this individual is current as of when his or her last campaign ended. See anything that needs updating? Send a correction to our editors |
Tisei was defeated by Democratic incumbent John Tierney on November 6th, 2012.[1]
Bio
Tisei was born in Someville, MA and is a longtime resident of the 6th Congressional District. Tisei earned his Bachelors degree in 1984 at American University.[2]
Career
Tisei represented the Middlesex and Essex district in the Massachusetts State Senate from 1990 to 2011 and served as Minority Leader in the Massachusetts Senate from 2007 to 2011.
His other political experience includes being the assistant minority leader for the Massachusetts Senate from 1997-2006; he was also the second assistant minority floor leader for the Massachusetts Senate from 1993-1996. Tisei was a representative in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1985-1991; and chair for Weld for Governor campaign in 1990, and served on the Middlesex County Charter Commission from 1986-1988.
Tisei has professional experience as a business owner and a realtor since 1991.[3]
Elections
2012
Tisei ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing Massachusetts' 6th District. Tisei won the nomination on the Republican ticket.[4] He ran unopposed in the September 6, 2012 Republican primary, after Bill Hudak suspended his campaign.[5] Incumbent Democrat John Tierney is seeking re-election.
According to the website Daily Kos, this race was one of nine top-ballot 2012 races that contained Libertarian candidates who received more total votes than was the difference between the Democratic winner and the GOP runner-up. In this case, Daniel Fishman took in over 13,000 more votes than the number that separated Tierney and Tisei.[6]
| U.S. House, Massachusetts, District 6 General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  John Tierney Incumbent |
46.4% | 180,942 | |
| Republican | Richard Tisei | 45.3% | 176,612 | |
| Libertarian | Daniel Fishman | 4.3% | 16,739 | |
| N/A | All Others | 0.1% | 514 | |
| N/A | Blank Votes | 3.9% | 15,045 | |
| Total Votes | 389,852 | |||
| Source: Massachusetts Secretary of State "Return of Votes" | ||||
Race Background
According to the Washington Post, Massachusetts' 6th was a battleground district in 2012, with redistricting making it less solidly Democratic. Furthermore, Democratic incumbent John Tierney faced PR issues and Tisei was a strong candidate with the potential to be the first openly gay, non-incumbent Republican congressman.[7]
According to the Washington Post, John Tierney had also been the target of attack ads from YG Action Fund, a conservative PAC supergroup. This highlights a trend in which super PACs have attempted to swing vulnerable house seats through strategic advertising. These ads were not solicited by the Tisei campaign, but his spokeswomen voiced her support for them.[8]
Media
Tisei released the campaign ad below on December 6, 2011. It is featured on his 2012 campaign website.[9]
|
|
Campaign Issues
On his campaign website, Tisei lists seven issues. They are:[11]
- Jobs
Excerpt: "I will fight tirelessly to put Washington on a path to fewer regulatory burdens, lower debt, and overall conditions which promote job growth."
- Debt
Excerpt: "The common sense approach to budgeting that we each follow in our households must be forced upon the spenders in Washington if we’re to preserve our way of life for future generations."
- Health Care
Excerpt: "I will support common-sense legislation which results in lower health care costs and less bureaucratic red tape interfering in the health care decisions of the people."
- Seniors
Excerpt: "I support the Earned Retiree Healthcare Benefits Protection Act, which will protect the retirement health benefits of our nation’s seniors. That legislation would prohibit post-retirement reductions in benefits — as well as providing employers with a substantial hardship exemption if the employers were truly unable to restore post-retirement benefits which had been promised to retirees (to be determined by the Secretary of Labor)."
- Iran and Israel
Excerpt: "Israel stands as a nearly solitary bastion of liberty and freedom in the Middle East. She’s our closest ally and we have a special duty to ensure her continued survival."
- Veterans
Excerpt: "As a state legislator, I was a strong advocate for our veterans. I helped them obtain needed benefits and advocated for the Chelsea Soldiers Home. I helped pass a law which established a “veteran’s preference” in public housing. As your Congressman, I will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that our veterans receive the full assistance they deserve."
- Education
Excerpt: "As a state legislator, I supported school choice, home schooling, and the establishment of charter schools. I was also a strong advocate for merit pay for our best teachers. Giving parents more control and placing less of an emphasis on test results and more of an emphasis on actual learning in the classroom remain my priorities." [11]
2010
Tisei faced Tim Murray (D) and Rick Purcell (G) in the general election on November 2, 2010. Murray won election.
| 2010 Massachusetts lieutenant gubernatorial general election | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Democratic Party |  Tim Murray
|
48.44% | |
| Republican Party | Richard Tisei | 42.09% | |
| Independent | Paul Loscocco | 8.04% | |
| Green Party | Rick Purcell | 1.43% | |
| Total Votes | 2,287,407 | ||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Tisei was re-elected senator for the Massachusetts Senate for the Middlesex and Essex district. [12] In this election he raised $263,850-; of that total $255,734 (97.4%) was from in state contributions and $6,837 (2.6%) was from out of state contributions.[13]
| Massachusetts State Senate - Middlesex and Essex district | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Richard Tisei (R)
|
56,460 | |||
| All Others | 743 | |||
| Blanks | 21,775 | |||
Campaign donors
2012
Miller lost the United States House of Representatives election in 2012. During that election cycle, Miller's campaign committee raised a total of $2,353,475 and spent $2,352,537.[14]
| United States House of Representatives, 2012 - Richard Tisei Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Total Raised | $2,353,475 |
| Total Spent | $2,352,537 |
| Total Raised by Election Winner | $2,133,196 |
| Total Spent by Election Winner | $2,299,261 |
| Top contributors to Richard Tisei's campaign committee | |
| Gutierrez Co | $21,000 |
| Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund | $17,450 |
| Abiomed Inc | $14,750 |
| Northland Investment | $12,500 |
| General Catalyst Partners | $11,000 |
| Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee | |
| Lawyers/Law Firms | $204,754 |
| Leadership PACs | $143,000 |
| Retired | $113,643 |
| Public Sector Unions | $109,000 |
| Candidate Committees | $101,209 |
2008
In 2008 Richard Tisei collected $263,850 in donations. [15]
Four of his largest contributors in 2008 were:
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| Richard Tisei | $16,000 |
| Lorenzo Lepore | $1,000 |
| Retired Public Employees | $1,000 |
| Daniel Grabauskas | $1,000 |
Personal
Richard Tisei has three sisters. He lives in Wakefield, Massachusetts with his partner of 18 years.[16]
External links
- Richard Tisei for Congress Official Campaign Website
- Richard Tisei for Congress Official Facebook
- Richard Tisei 2012 Official Twitter
- Boston.com article about Tisei's entry
- Richard Tisei's Vote Smart Profile
- Richard Tisei Official YouTube Channel
References
- ↑ Politico "2012 Election Map, Massachusetts"
- ↑ Project Vote Smart - Senator Tisei
- ↑ Project Vote Smart - Senator Tisei
- ↑ Open Secrets "Massachusetts Congressional District 6 Election 2012" Accessed January 5, 2012
- ↑ Yahoo News "Congressional Candidate Bill Hudak Suspends 2012 Campaign" (Accessed October 4, 2012)
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Libertarians provided the margin for Democrats and at least nine elections," November 15, 2012
- ↑ Washington Post blog "The 10 House districts that might surprise you," May 11, 2012
- ↑ The Washington Post "Conservative super PACs targeting blue-state Democrats," Sept. 17, 2012
- ↑ Tisei's Campaign Website (Accessed: October 4, 2012)
- ↑ YouTube channel
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Richard Tisei for Congress "Issues" August 14, 2012
- ↑ Return of Votes for Massachusetts State Election November 4, 2008
- ↑ Follow the Money 2008
- ↑ Open Secrets " 2012 Election Cycle," Accessed March 2013
- ↑ 2008 contributors to Richard Tisei
- ↑ Tisei's Campaign Website, Biography (Accessed: October 4, 2012)
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Massachusetts State Senate Middlesex and Essex 1991–2011 |
Succeeded by Katherine Clark |
| |||||||||||||
