From Project Kid to Political Candidate
Gary Grossi’s story begins not in a political dynasty, but in public housing. Raised in the Corcoran Park Housing Project in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he was part of a group of kids who called themselves “Projectiles” with the shared goal of breaking the cycle of poverty. This experience, he says, instilled in him the importance of stable families and community. He registered as a Republican at 18, a move he jokingly notes made him a “political refugee” in his deeply Democratic hometown. After graduating from Cambridge High and Latin in 1977, he embarked on a path defined by service long before he considered running for office.
A Dual Career of Service
Grossi’s professional life is a unique blend of military leadership and healthcare. He spent 29 years in the U.S. Army
and Army Reserve, retiring with the rank of Colonel. His military career included significant deployments and leadership roles, such as serving at Walter Reed Army Medical Center during the first Gulf War and a deployment to Mosul and Al Asad, Iraq. Concurrently, he built a career as a nurse after earning a bachelor's degree in nursing from UMass Boston. He specialized in caring for veterans, working in psychiatry and substance abuse at the Bedford VA Hospital and the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center. This dual-hatted career gave him a ground-level view of national security and the healthcare challenges facing veterans.
The Transition to Politics
After decades in the Army and healthcare, Grossi has turned his focus to federal politics. He is the Republican Party candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Massachusetts' 3rd Congressional District, facing the general election on November 3, 2026. He secured his spot on the ballot after winning the Republican primary on September 1, 2026. This is not his first foray into state politics; he also ran for a seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 2024. Now, he is taking on a significant challenge in a district and state that have been reliably Democratic in recent election cycles. His campaign finance records are publicly available through the Federal Election Commission, detailing the funding behind his congressional bid.
What Are His Key Platforms?
Grossi is running on a platform that reflects his background and conservative principles. His key issues include tackling the rising cost of living, with a focus on lowering energy costs for families. He advocates for safer communities through support for law enforcement, stronger families, and better community-based mental health services—an area informed by his nursing career. A major theme of his campaign is a call for greater government transparency and a reduction in what he describes as waste, fraud, and abuse. He is also a staunch defender of constitutional rights, specifically citing freedom of speech and the right to bear arms as core tenets of his political philosophy.
