Gay Republican Congressional Hopeful Releases First TV Ad

Richard Tisei, a former Massachusetts state senator running to be the first openly gay Republican elected to Congress, released the first television ad of his campaign Wednesday morning.

The 30-second spot features the candidate talking about his connections to the 6^th District north of Boston. He uses words including “independent” and “bipartisan,” but he does not mention that he is a Republican or gay.

Tisei, a realtor, faces the eight-term Democratic incumbent Rep. John Tierney. The race is competitive, with House Republicans seeking to position one of their own in Massachusetts for the first time since 1997. Scott Brown became the first Republican to represent the state in the U.S. Senate in almost 40 years in 2010, when he won the 6^th District, according to Roll Call, which recently rated the Tisei-Tierney contest a "toss-up."

Unlike Senator Brown, Tisei publicly supports repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, which only one Republican in Congress, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, has endorsed. The Log Cabin Republicans and the Victory Fund have endorsed Tisei.

The candidates are nearly tied in fund-raising, according to the Salem News, with the challenger outpacing the incumbent in recent months. Tisei raised $569,000 in the last quarter, compared to over $400,000 for Tierney. Overall, Tisei has raised $1.23 million, with Tierney taking in $1.3 million.

The Tisei campaign reports that the new ad will run on cable TV throughout the district at a cost of $43,000 per week.