Massachusetts

Gabriel Gomez, a former Navy SEAL and Boston businessman making his first bid for office, announced his candidacy Tuesday. Democrat William "Mo" Cowan is filling the seat temporarily until a June 25 special election.

Gomez joins state Rep. Daniel Winslow, a former district court judge and chief legal counsel to Mitt Romney, as the GOP candidates in the race. Gomez and Winslow aren't Scott Brown or William Weld — Republicans with high-name recognition who can raise money quickly for what could be a short but expensive race.

It will be an uphill battle for Republicans in Massachusetts, a Democratic stronghold. Reps. Ed Markey and Stephen Lynch are running for the Democratic nomination, with Markey getting kind words from Kerry and the Senate Democratic campaign committee.

Gomez, the son of Colombian immigrants and a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, is the kind of candidate that the national Republican Party wants to see more often. Romney pulled in 27% of the Latino vote in 2012, which was a dismal showing compared with George W. Bush's share in 2004. Some exit polls had Bush winning as much as 44% of the Hispanic vote.