Update: Tisei concedes race to Tierney

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November 7, 2012

Update: Tisei concedes race to Tierney

By Richard Gaines Staff Writer Gloucester Daily Times The Gloucester Daily Times Wed Nov 07, 2012, 02:39 PM EST

Republican challenger Richard Tisei today conceded the 6th District congressional race to John Tierney, who has now won re-election by a razor thin margin in a three way contest that included more than 4 percent to Libertarian Party candidate Daniel Fishman

“This has been a long, hard-fought battle and I believe that the voters deserve better representation in Washington,” Tisei, a former 26-year state legislator, said in a prepared statement issued just before 2 p.m., 18 hours after the polls closed. “ “That’s why I ran.

“Nonetheless,” he continued, “the election results are now fully in and Congressman Tierney retains a narrow lead. I congratulate him (John Tierney) on his victory.

“While I have concerns about reported irregularities in some areas of the district,” Tisei added, “I’ll leave any investigation of those matters to others. I’ll have no further comment on these matters.”

“I’m proud of our effort to bring change to Washington and for all of those wonderful people I’ve met along the way. It’s been the experience of a lifetime,” Tisei said in his statement. “I’m also grateful for all of those who’ve bravely stood up to be counted as we try to put our country back on track. There is no substitute for citizen involvement in building a better country. I encourage every American to get involved, stay involved, and make a difference.”

Tierney was a consensus underdog in a campaign that drew more than $4.5 million in Super-PAC campaign funding — a majoity of it spent on questioning Tierney’s integrity and reminding voters that Tierney’s wife, Patrice, served a month in federal prison after pleading guilty to assisting his fugitive brother-in-law file faulty income taxes.

But Tierney rallied with Democratic support and his own field organization and took and held a lead over Tisei by about 1 percent.

Final official vote totals — with all 231 precincts reporting – show that Tierney garnered 179,603 votes, winning with 48.4 percent, while Tisei captured 175,953, or 47.2 percent. Libertarian Fishman drew 16,668 votes, or 4 percent.

Tierney did especially well in Lynn, Gloucester and his hometown Salem — winning by a margin of more than 2-1o-1 in Salem, bny roughly 3-to-1 in Lynn, and by more than 3,000 votes in Gloucester.

For more on this story, look to tomorrow’s print and online editions of the Gloucester Daily Times and gloucestertimes.com.

Richard Gaines can be reached at 978-283-7000, x3464, or at rgaines@gloucesterties.com.