Karyn Ellen Polito (born November 11, 1966) is an American attorney, businesswoman, and politician who served as the 72nd lieutenant governor of Massachusetts from 2015 to 2023. 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 (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

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, Engl ...

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 serving as the sixth president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 72nd governor of Massa ...

. They were both re-elected in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, and declined to seek reelection in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

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. The population was 38,325 according to the 2020 United States census, in nearly 15,000 households. Incorporated in 1727, Shrewsbury prospere ...

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

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

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

Town Meeting Town meeting, also known as an "open town meeting", is a form of local government in which eligible town residents can directly participate in an assembly which determines the governance of their town. Unlike representative town meeting where ...

member (1993–2000), a member of the Shrewsbury Zoning Board of Appeals (1994–1995), and a Shrewsbury

selectman The select board or board of selectmen is commonly the executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms. Three is the most common numb ...

(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 the Massachusetts State Lottery Comm ...

from 1999 to 2000. In 1998, Polito ran for the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

in the Second Worcester district. However, she lost the general election to Guy Glodis.

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 is an elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Originally appointed under authority of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, English Crown pursuan ...

. She was unopposed in the Republican primary. Polito lost in the general election to Democratic candidate Steve Grossman, but won 45% of the vote, receiving the most votes of any Republican running for office in Massachusetts in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

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, lawyer, and former politician who served as Attorney General of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. She is most notable for having lost a race for the United States Senate in what was ...

and Steve Kerrigan, 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 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 On the Issues or OnTheIssues is an American non-partisan, non-profit organization providing information to American voters on American candidates, primarily via their website. The organization was started in 1996, went non-profit in 2000, and is ...

, 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 is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

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 on the number of Term of office, terms a Incumbent, person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in Presidential system, presidential and Semi-presidential republic, semi-president ...

and eliminating

state pensions A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a "Defined benefit pension pla ...

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 Reproductive Freedom for All, formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America and commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, politics, political action, and advocacy efforts to op ...

and

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is an American nonprofit organization

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

NRA Political Victory Fund The Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) is the political action committee (PAC) of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA). Founded in 1976, the Fund endorses political candidates on behalf of the NRA and contributes money to those candidate's ...

. * As a 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 women politicians 21st-century Massachusetts politicians American people of Italian descent Charlie Baker Boston College alumni Candidates in the 1998 United States elections Candidates in the 2010 United States elections Lieutenant governors of Massachusetts Living people Massachusetts lawyers New England Law Boston alumni People from Shrewsbury, Massachusetts Republican Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Selectmen in Massachusetts Women state legislators in Massachusetts 21st-century members of the Massachusetts General Court