Former active duty Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez has announced his intention to run in the special election to fill the vacancy left by John Kerry. A private-equity investor, Gomez now has until the end of the month to collect the 10,000 signatures necessary to get on the ballot. If successful, we would face state Rep. Dan Winslow, a former Romney staffer, in the primary April 30th.
“As I look at Washington,” Gomez said in a public statement, “I see a lot of unproductive noise and bickering, and I see two parties attacking each other at all times over every issue. I see gridlock; I see a partisan atmosphere where very few are willing to work together.”
The winner of the GOP primary faces an uphill challenge in the June 25th special election. Reps. Ed Markay and Steve Lynch are battling for the Democrat nomination. Absent a nasty primary fight, either would be the favorites in heavily democrat Massachusetts.
That said, Gomez has a compelling personal story. The son of Columbian immigrants, he announced his candidacy with the release of a bi-lingual video. A successful businessman and elite combat veteran, he could offer voters a refreshing change from the standard factory line politicians who usually campaign.