Representative Peter Gerard Torkildsen - Contact Information

Peter Gerard Torkildsen (born January 28, 1958) is an American Republican Party politician from Massachusetts who served two terms as a United States Representative from 1993 to 1997. A native of Danvers, Massachusetts, he built his political career in the North Shore region of the state and became one of the last Republicans to represent Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives. As of 2026, Torkildsen and his colleague Peter I. Blute remain the most recent Republicans to be elected to the U.S. House from Massachusetts.

Torkildsen grew up in Danvers, a town in Essex County, which later formed the core of his political base. His early life in this community, which he would go on to represent at both the state and federal levels, helped shape his understanding of local economic and social issues. Although detailed information about his family background and early education is limited in public sources, his subsequent career reflects a long-standing engagement with public service and Republican Party politics in Massachusetts.

Torkildsen entered elective office in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1985, representing the 13th Essex district, which included his hometown of Danvers. He served in the state legislature until 1991. During his tenure in the Massachusetts House, he developed a conservative record on both fiscal and social issues, emphasizing budgetary restraint and traditional social positions. In 1990, he sought higher office within state government by challenging State Senator Paul Cellucci for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, running as an anti-abortion candidate. Although unsuccessful in that bid, the campaign raised his profile within the state Republican Party.

Following his service in the legislature, Torkildsen was appointed Commissioner of Labor and Industries for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, a post he held from 1991 to 1992. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing state labor regulations and workplace standards, gaining administrative and executive experience that would inform his later work in Congress. His tenure as commissioner bridged his transition from state-level policymaking to national office.

In 1992, Torkildsen was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts’s 6th congressional district, which covered much of Essex County, and he took office on January 3, 1993. He served two terms, from 1993 to 1997, participating in the legislative process during a significant period in American political history marked by debates over federal spending, social policy, and the balance of power between the parties in Congress. As a member of the House of Representatives, he represented the interests of his constituents in northeastern Massachusetts and contributed to the work of the Republican Conference during the early and mid-1990s.

In Congress, Torkildsen was generally conservative on defense spending and fiscal issues, supporting policies aimed at budgetary discipline and a strong national defense. On social issues, however, his positions were more mixed. Although he had run for lieutenant governor as an anti-abortion candidate, he was considered pro-choice on abortion during his congressional service. He notably voted against the 1996 Partial-Birth Abortion Ban, later explaining during his 2007 campaign for chair of the Massachusetts Republican Party that he objected to the bill’s lack of an explicit exception to save the life of the mother and that he would have supported a similar measure including such an exception. He also supported the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, aligning with many in his party on the definition of marriage at the federal level.

Torkildsen’s congressional career came to an end following the 1996 elections. Running in a presidential election year in a state that voted overwhelmingly for Democratic President Bill Clinton, he was narrowly defeated by Democrat John F. Tierney in the race for the 6th district seat. Tierney’s victory was part of a net eight-seat gain for Democrats in the U.S. House that year. Torkildsen sought to regain the seat in the 1998 United States House election, challenging Tierney to a rematch, but Tierney prevailed again, winning by a margin of 55 percent to 43 percent. When Torkildsen and Peter I. Blute left Congress in 1997, their departures marked the beginning of a prolonged period in which no Republicans have been elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts.

After leaving Congress, Torkildsen remained active in Republican politics and party organization. He later served as chair of the Massachusetts Republican Party from 2007 to 2009, a role in which he worked to strengthen the party’s infrastructure and candidate recruitment in a state dominated by Democrats. His long career, spanning service in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, an executive post as Commissioner of Labor and Industries, two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, and leadership of the state party, has made him a notable figure in the modern history of the Massachusetts Republican Party.