Retired U.S. Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez, a Republican, announced Tuesday he would be entering the U.S. Senate special election to fill the seat of Massachusetts Democrat John Kerry. In a video posted on his campaign website, Gomez begins by announcing in Spanish before continuing in English. “I spent my career as a Navy SEAL and as a businessman right here in Boston,” he says. “I’m not a politician, so I’ll have a very different kind of campaign.” Watch the video below:
The Boston Globe has more on Gomez’s bid:
His entry to the race sets up a contested Republican primary, pitting Gomez against state Representative Daniel B. Winslow, a former aide to Governor Mitt Romney.
Gomez had previously said that he was likely to run, and party insiders have been preparing for his campaign, following the decision by better-known figures, such as former senator Scott Brown, to stay out of the race.
Gomez has begun hiring staff, including Lenny Alcivar, a former campaign manager for gubernatorial candidate Charles D. Baker, and Gail Gitcho, a former aide to Romney and Brown.
No matter who wins the nomination, the Republican candidate will have a tough general election campaign. Massachusetts is overwhelmingly Democratic, and both of the two leading Democratic candidates–congressmen Ed Markey and Stephen Lynch–will be formidable opponents. Former senator Scott Brown’s decision not to run for Kerry’s seat took away the GOP’s best opportunity to pick up
