Politics & Government

Tisei Turns in Signatures [Poll]

The congressional candidate will officially be on the ballot.

Congressional candidate Richard Tisei turned in his certified signatures to the Secretary of State's Elections Division in Boston Tuesday.

Tisei was joined by a group of supporters who helped him gather the necessary signatures.

Tisei, 49, announced his candidacy in November and has since in campaign donations two quarters in a row.

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Considered by many to be a formidable opponent for Tierney, Tisei recently led Tierney by seven points -- with Tisei at 40 percent and Tierney at 33 percent -- in a GOP poll of district voters, Roll Call is reporting.

Polls at this point in the race will likely shift repeatedly (a poll in late January had Tierney ahead by 15 votes, and both polls have a margin of error of about five points), but this recent polling data could prove to be a boost to the Tisei campaign in terms of enthusiasm, momentum and fundraising.

Find out what's happening in North Andoverwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Born in Somerville and raised in Wakefield, Tisei was first elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in the mid-1980s at the age of 22, making him the youngest Republican ever elected to the legislature at that time. He was elected to the Massachusetts Senate in 1990 and became Senate minority leader in 2007. By then, he had become the longest-serving Republican in the legislature.

He ran as Charlie Baker's running mate in 2010 when Baker ran for governor but was defeated by incumbent Gov. Deval Patrick. Tisei stepped down from his Senate seat that year to focus on the gubernatorial campaign.


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