His opponent has been making headlines since last summer.
Rob McCarthy, meanwhile, quietly launched his bid for Congress in February. Since then, he has stood outside supermarkets and post offices throughout the 6th District collecting the 2,000 signatures he needed to get his name on the ballot.
"It started when I was at Boston College," McCarthy said, describing the origin of his political ambition. "I've had the dream for a long time. This isn't a spur of the moment decision."
The Republican would have to unseat incumbent John Tierney, a Democrat from Salem, to realize his dream. But before he gets a shot at Tierney, McCarthy has to best a candidate within his own party.
Republican Bill Hudak of Boxford has been campaigning for nearly a year. At the height of the health care debate last August, he held a well publicized rally outside Tierney's Peabody Square office to pressure the congressman to hold a town hall meeting.
McCarthy believes he can overcome Hudak's head start.
"I'm the right guy," he said. "I have the right background and it's the right time."
McCarthy, 51, is a Saugus High School graduate. After earning a degree in political science from Boston College, he attended New England Law in Boston. McCarthy then joined the Marine Corps and reached the rank of major before being honorably discharged. During Desert Storm, he served at Camp LeJeune in North Carolina.
A lawyer, McCarthy started his own practice in Saugus. Hudak, also a lawyer, has an office in Saugus as well.
McCarthy has made two unsuccessful bids for a spot on the town's Board of Selectmen. He is a member of the Saugus Republican Town Committee.
"He's a real gentleman," committee Chairman Paul Van Steensburg Sr. said. The committee, he said, has no plans to endorse either Republican. "(McCarthy) is conservative, but I'm not sure he is really a right-wing conservative."
Hudak's campaign is focused on November, not the primary and the challenge McCarthy is mounting.
"Bill is the first candidate in recent memory who has demonstrated the ability to bring together the proper resources needed to defeat Tierney," Campaign Manager Aaron Gulbransen said in a prepared statement. "It is clear the 6th District needs a change in November. ... Bill Hudak will be the Republican nominee and will defeat Tierney in November."
Aided substantially by his own money, Hudak has outraised even Tierney at points during the campaign. At the close of the first quarter of this year, he had $88,487 in his campaign account. McCarthy began his run for office with a $27,010 loan to his campaign.
"I'm not worried about the fundraising at this point," McCarthy said. "We don't have a huge organization. We have a committed core of volunteer people, and I have confidence that we can do it."
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