Raymond Shamie (June 7, 1921 – October 16, 1999) was an American politician and businessman from Massachusetts. Shamie served as the chair of the Massachusetts Republican Party and was twice the Republican nominee for the United States Senate.

Early life and education

Shamie was born in Brooklyn,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. His father died in a traffic accident while Shamie was in high school, and in 1937, during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, Shamie got a job as a busboy a Horn & Hardart automat.

Career

Shamie was twice a Massachusetts Republican nominee for the United States Senate, and served as the chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party from 1987 to 1991. Ray Shamie was the inventor of the "Metal Bellows", a flexible shaft coupling that is used in aerospace and many other fields, for which he held the patent. In 1982, Shamie, a millionaire businessman and metalwork entrepreneur (primarily from the invention of Metal Bellows), challenged longtime incumbent Senator Ted Kennedy. In a Democratic-leaning election cycle, Shamie lost in a landslide, receiving 38 percent of the vote against Kennedy's 61 percent. In 1984, he announced that he would challenge Senator

Paul Tsongas Paul Efthemios Tsongas (; February 14, 1941 – January 18, 1997) was an American politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1979 until 1985 and in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 until 197 ...

for re-election; however, Tsongas, who had been diagnosed with lymphoma, did not run for re-election. Shamie won the Republican primary for the seat, beating former U.S. Attorney General Elliot Richardson. In the general election, he faced off against Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor John Kerry. Shamie lost the Senate race to Kerry, 55–45. After his second bid for the Senate, he became the chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party. He served in that capacity until 1991. He is credited with helping Republican

William Weld William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

win the governorship in 1990.

Death

Shamie died in Florida on October 16, 1999, at the age of 78.

References

1921 births 1999 deaths Massachusetts Republican Party chairs Candidates in the 1982 United States elections Candidates in the 1984 United States elections {{Massachusetts-politician-stub