U.S. Senate Candidate Michael Sullivan

As a U.S. Attorney, Michael Sullivan was known for having prosecuted attempted shoe-bomber Richard Reid. He then spent three years at the helm of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the tip of the spear when it comes to government regulation of guns.

Now, Sullivan is running for a seat in the U.S. Senate, vacated by Secretary of State John Kerry. He is in the thick of the race with GOP candidates Gabriel Gomez and Dan Winslow and Democrats Ed Markey and Stephen Lynch.

Sullivan got his start working as a stock clerk for Gillette in order to put himself through school. He went from Boston College High School to Boston College to Suffolk University Law School.

Michael Sullivan, GOP candidate for U.S. Senate.

Boston Globe "Sullivan, a former US attorney, is the ­only one of the three Republican candidates who opposes ­legalized abortion. Daniel ­B. Winslow, a state representative from Norfolk, has said he supports abortion rights, while ­Gabriel E. Gomez, a Cohasset businessman, said he is personally opposed to abortion, but if elected he would not attempt to overturn current laws."

Boston Herald "The tenth anniversary of start of the Iraq War is forcing candidates in Massachusetts' special U.S. Senate election to grapple with a conflict that saw public support drop the longer it was fought."

Boston Globe "It may be 30 miles from the traditional St. Patrick’s Day breakfast in South Boston, but the town of Scituate held its own shamrock-studded breakfast Sunday morning, a Republican answer to the Southie show that draws a who’s who of the state’s Democrats."