Retired Navy SEAL to run for Senate -- in Massachusetts

Retired U.S. Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez announced today that he is running to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by Sen. John Kerry. In a video posted to his campaign website, Gomez -- a Republican son of Colombian immigrants -- says that his background as a SEAL and a businessman give him unique qualifications, but his lack of interest in politicking will mean "a very different kind of campaign."

"If you're happy with the way things are going in our government, I'm not your kind of candidate," he admits.

WATCH:

The Boston Globe has more info on Gomez:

“I’m running because I refuse to be cynical about America or about America’s future,” he said in a lengthy statement released Monday night. “I’m a doer and an optimist by nature and especially about our country. Certainly people will say, ‘This can’t be fixed.’ Well, I’ve spent a good part of my life working on and accomplishing a lot of things most people said were either too hard or impossible.”

His entry to the race sets up a contested Republican primary, pitting Gomez against state Representative Daniel B. Winslow, a ­former aide to Governor Mitt ­Romney. ...

In his statement Monday, Gomez decried partisanship in Washington, but did not outline his position on any specific issues.

“I’m not a politician, and there will be times when folks will ask me questions about the inner working of politics that I don’t know about,” he said.

“I’m a quick study. I’ll figure all the political jargon out, but I’m not going to adopt it.”

Gomez is in the process of hiring a major firm to gather his signatures, SpoonWorks Inc., at a cost of more than $100,000, said a top GOP official who has been consulting with Gomez.

Harold Hubschman, owner of the company, would not comment, saying he does not discuss his clients’ business publicly.

There is concern among ­Republicans that the short time window for gathering signatures, amid rough weather, could jeopardize the party’s chances of fielding a candidate.

Hubschman, who has been paid more than $2.5 million over the last decade on petition drives for state races and referendums, according to state campaign finance records, said it can be done.

“We know we can do it,” Hubschman said. “It’s not impossible. It’s just very difficult.”