Salem attorney John Tierney — fighting off questions over his wife's handling of tax receipts from an Internet gambling operation and an intense Republican challenge from conservative Boxford lawyer Bill Hudak — earned his eighth term as 6th District congressman in convincing fashion last night.
With more than 86 percent of the precincts in the sweeping district reporting, Tierney carried a solid margin of 38,000 votes with a 58 percent majority.
"Thank you to all of the voters who supported my campaign today, as well as the volunteers across our area, whose energy and commitment helped us achieve this victory," Tierney said last night. "Together we focused on the critical issues facing our community and talked with voters in every city and town about our efforts to find real solutions to these challenges."
The 6th District race — racked with criticism of Hudak's stands and character in the early going — became especially intense over the last month, after Tierney's wife, Patrice, pleaded guilty to four counts of aiding and abetting the filing of false federal tax returns in conjunction with her handling of some $7 million from her brother's offshore and illegal Internet gambling operations.
Congressman Tierney has insisted he had no knowledge of any involvement by his wife in the scheme, saying he and his wife have a "21st century marriage" and do not know about each other's financial affairs. But the case has clouded the race in other ways, as well.
Those questions, and a growing frustration with Congress, eroded Tierney's support in many Greater Newburyport communities, particularly the more rural ones. While carrying significant winning margins in places like Newburyport, Salem and Lynn, Hudak was able to carry communities like Georgetown, Groveland and Rowley.
Last week, Tierney stood by his belief that, given the charges against his wife, his vote against a bill designed to put tighter clamps on the use of U.S. bank funds for offshore Internet gambling operations did not represent a conflict of interest, reiterating that he was unaware of his brother-in-law's operations.
He acknowledged, however, that if the issue were to surface again, he would first ask for an Ethics Committee clearance as a precaution before casting such a vote again.
Hudak had set his sights on a run against Tierney more than a year ago — though he did not actually clinch the challenger's spot until breezing past Saugus lawyer Robert McCarthy in the Sept. 14 primary.
But he drew heavy verbal fire throughout his run over a now infamous lawn sign outside his home during the run up to the 2008 presidential election — one that essentially morphed a photo of Barack Obama into one of Osama bin Laden.
Hudak had since said he meant the sign as a cartoon or "parody" and noted that it was one of two he displayed — the Obama sign signified what he viewed as "unwanted" change in 2008, while a nearby sign touted what he saw as desired change portrayed Republican nominee John McCain as a "war hero."
He also drew fire for being an alleged Obama "birther" — one who questions whether the president was born in the U.S. — though he said he never espoused that view and only alluded to a report on a court challenge over that question when asked by a weekly newspaper reporter what he knew of Obama's background.
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