Meet The Badass Navy SEAL Who Could Be The Next Senator From Massachusetts
Gomez, a 47-year-old Republican, has an impressive life story: The son of Colombian immigrants, Gomez graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, and went on to become a Navy pilot, decorated Navy SEAL operator, graduate of Harvard Business School, and later, had a successful career in private equity. As the Boston Globe put it, he "might have been compiled by a team of Republican consultants trying to craft the perfect candidate."
Here's more of his career highlights, according to his official bio:
- He's a first generation American citizen, having been born in Los Angeles. He first learned English when he was in kindergarten.
- After the Naval Academy, he went to flight school and piloted surveillance planes off aircraft carriers.
- He was class leader during SEAL training and went on to be a platoon commander in the SEAL teams.
- Received an MBA from Harvard.
- Joined some notable investment firms, including Boston-based Summit Partners and Advent International, where he earned millions (and helped self-finance his own campaign).
After winning the Republican primary Tuesday night, Gomez now faces off against Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) in the general election on June 25.
While Markey is the favorite in deep blue Massachusetts, Gomez may be able to pull off a Scott Brown-esque upset, especially with his appeal to moderates. "If you're looking for a rigid partisan, I'm not your guy," Gomez told NPR.
In 2008, he supported Obama, and on the issues, he offers opinions outside of a simple "left vs. right." On the fiscal side, he offers the Republican message that "Washington, D.C. has a spending problem" that needs to be reduced, but supports Democrats on immigration issues and gun control.
His independence certainly helped him defeat the more conservative Michael Sullivan and Dan Winslow in the primary.
“This is a very impressive victory for Gabriel Gomez, who literally came out of nowhere to power past Michael Sullivan and Dan Winslow,” Jeffrey Berry, a Tufts political science professor, told ABC News. “He won largely on the basis of personal appeal. He seems like a fresh face and someone who is likely to give the Democrats a challenge come two months hence.”