Karyn Ellen Polito (born November 11, 1966) is an American attorney, businesswoman, and politician serving as the 72nd

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

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. Polito was a Republican member of the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

for the 11th

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

district from 2001 to 2011. Polito was first elected lieutenant governor in 2014 with her running mate,

Charlie Baker Charles Duane Baker Jr. (born November 13, 1956) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 72nd governor of Massachusetts since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Baker was a cabinet official under two governors of Massach ...

. They were both re-elected in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

. As of 2022, Polito and her running mate

are the only Republican statewide elected officials in Massachusetts. In December 2021, they both announced that they would not seek re-election in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

Early life and education

Polito is a lifelong resident of

Shrewsbury, Massachusetts Shrewsbury (/ˈʃruzberi/ ''SHROOZ-bury'') is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Shrewsbury, unlike the surrounding towns of Grafton, Millbury, Westborough, Northborough, Boylston, and West Boylston did not become a ...

. She graduated from Holy Name Central Catholic High School. Shortly after graduating from

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classified ...

with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1988, she received her Juris Doctor from New England Law in 1991.

Career

An attorney, Polito co-owns and operates a commercial real estate development firm. Polito is a member of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

. Her experience in politics and government includes stints as a Shrewsbury

Town Meeting Town meeting is a form of local government in which most or all of the members of a community are eligible to legislate policy and budgets for local government. It is a town- or city-level meeting in which decisions are made, in contrast with ...

member (1993-2000), a member of the Shrewsbury Zoning Board of Appeals (1994-1995), and a Shrewsbury selectman (1995-1998). Polito was the commissioner of the

Massachusetts Lottery The Massachusetts Lottery was established on September 27, 1971, following the legalization of gambling by the Massachusetts General Court, the legislature of the Commonwealth. The Lottery is administered by a commission of 5 members, who incl ...

from 1999 to 2000.

Massachusetts House of Representatives

In 2000, Polito was elected State Representative for the 11th district of Worcester, which covers the town of Shrewsbury and precincts 1 and 4 of the adjacent town of

Westborough Westborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,567 at the 2020 Census, in over 7,000 households. Incorporated in 1717, the town is governed under the New England open town meeting system, headed ...

in Worcester County. She served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 2001 to 2011, winning every election without any opposition.

2010 state treasurer campaign

On March 1, 2010, Polito announced she would run for the office of

treasurer and receiver-general of Massachusetts The Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts (commonly called the "treasurer") is an executive officer, elected statewide every four years. The Treasurer oversees the Office of Abandoned Property, escheated accounts, the State Retirement ...

. She was unopposed in the Republican primary. Polito lost in the general election to Democratic candidate Steve Grossman, but received the most votes of any Republican running for office in Massachusetts in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Lieutenant governor of Massachusetts

2014 campaign

On December 3, 2013, Polito announced her candidacy for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts. The leading GOP candidate for Governor,

, endorsed her candidacy. She was not opposed in the September 2014 primary. Baker and Polito won the 2014 gubernatorial election, defeating Democratic candidates

Martha Coakley Martha Mary Coakley (born July 14, 1953) is an American lobbyist and lawyer who served as Attorney General of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. Prior to serving as Attorney General, she was District Attorney of Middlesex County from 1999 to 200 ...

and

Steve Kerrigan Stephen "Steve" Kerrigan is an American political executive who was the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts in the 2014 election. From 2003 to 2007, Kerrigan served as Chief of Staff to Massachusetts Attorney General Tho ...

, respectively, 48.40% to 46.54%.

2018 campaign

In August 2018, Baker and Polito formally launched their re-election campaign. Both were successful in the Republican primary election held on September 4, 2018, with Polito running unopposed. Baker and Polito faced challengers Jay Gonzalez and

Quentin Palfrey Quentin Palfrey (born April 29, 1974) is an American lawyer, policymaker, and political candidate. He currently serves as Deputy General Counsel at the United States Department of Commerce. He previously served as the Executive Director of the ...

of the Democratic Party in the general election. The Baker/Polito ticket defeated the Gonzales/Palfrey ticket by a margin of 1,781,341 votes to 885,770.

Issues and record

Karyn Polito has been described as a socially moderate Republican who is generally conservative on most other issues. On the Issues, a non-partisan organization that records a politician's position on issues, considers her to be a "Moderate Conservative." Polito did not vote for President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

in 2016 and announced that she did not support Trump's re-election. *Polito has supported

term limits A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

and eliminating state pensions for elected officials. *She has been supportive of state tax cuts. *She said she is proud of her pro-choice record, noting high ratings from

NARAL Pro-Choice America NARAL Pro-Choice America, commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, political action, and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion, to expand access t ...

and

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

. * Polito had an A+ rating from Gun Owners' Action League (GOAL), and an A rating from the

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent gun rights lobbying organization while cont ...

. * As State Representative in 2007, Polito voted yes on a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman. She did support same-sex civil unions. In 2013, however, Polito reversed her position and expressed public support for same-sex marriage. *Polito opposed Donald Trump's executive order to build a wall on the southern border of the United States.

Personal life

Polito resides in

with her husband, Stephan M. Rodolakis, and their two children. Rodolakis is an attorney specializing in bankruptcy proceedings.

Electoral history

References

External links

Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito
official government website
About Lieutenant Governor Polito
official campaign website
Karyn Polito for Lieutenant Governor
(archived) * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Polito, Karyn 1966 births 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American women 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians American lawyers and judges of Italian descent American politicians of Italian descent Boston College alumni Lieutenant Governors of Massachusetts Living people Massachusetts lawyers Republican Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives New England Law Boston alumni People from Shrewsbury, Massachusetts Women state legislators in Massachusetts