Representative Peter I. Blute

Peter Ignatius Blute (born January 28, 1956) is an American former politician and media personality who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts. He represented Massachusetts’ 3rd congressional district for two terms, from January 3, 1993, to January 3, 1997, and contributed to the legislative process during this period. As of 2024, Blute and his colleague Peter G. Torkildsen remain the last Republicans elected to serve in the United States House delegation from Massachusetts.

Blute was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, the son of Dr. Robert Blute and Ann-Marie Blute, a Dame of Malta. He was one of eleven siblings in a politically active and civically prominent family. He grew up in nearby Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, where he attended St. John’s High School. His extended family had a long record of public service: his grandfather, Paul H. Hines, served as a state representative and as an aide to Boston Mayor John Hynes, and his uncle, Peter F. Hines, served on the Boston City Council from 1958 to 1968 and was a candidate for mayor in 1967. One of his sisters, Paula Ebben, later became a news anchor for WBZ-TV in Boston. In 2005, Boston magazine ranked the Blute family tenth on a list of fifty families “that run Boston,” reflecting their influence in regional politics and public life.

Blute pursued higher education at Boston College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1978. After completing his studies, he entered the private sector, initially as the owner of a sports promotion and marketing firm. He later worked as a marketing representative for The Burdett School, gaining experience in business development and communications that would inform his later political and media career. Throughout this period he continued to reside in Shrewsbury, maintaining close ties to the central Massachusetts communities he would eventually represent.

Blute’s formal political career began in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He was elected to that body in 1986 and served until 1993. In 1992, he ran for the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts’ 3rd congressional district as a Republican. In a notable upset, he defeated nine-term Democratic incumbent Joseph Early—also a St. John’s High School alumnus—becoming the first Republican to represent the district since 1947. In the 1992 race, Blute received 50.4 percent of the vote to Early’s 44.3 percent, with other candidates receiving 5.3 percent. He was reelected in 1994, winning 54.6 percent of the vote against Democrat Kevin O’Sullivan, who received 44.2 percent, with other candidates at 1.2 percent.

In Congress, Blute served in the 103rd and 104th Congresses, from January 3, 1993, to January 3, 1997. A member of the Republican Party, he participated in the democratic process during a significant period in American political history, representing the interests of his constituents in central Massachusetts. His tenure coincided with the Republican takeover of the House in 1994, and he was part of the Republican delegation that helped shape legislative debates during that era. In the 1996 election, he sought a third term but was defeated in his bid for the 105th Congress by Democrat James P. McGovern. In that race, Blute received 45.4 percent of the vote to McGovern’s 52.9 percent, with other candidates receiving 1.7 percent. Since Blute’s defeat, no other Massachusetts Republican has been elected to the U.S. House, underscoring the historical significance of his service in the state’s congressional delegation.

After leaving Congress in 1997, Blute was appointed executive director of the Massachusetts Port Authority (MassPort), a position he held from 1997 to 1999. His tenure there involved oversight of major transportation and port facilities in the Boston area. It came to an end following public controversy over a workday harbor cruise originally paid for with MassPort funds and billed as a “survey” of Boston Harbor. During the event, a female passenger, actress Gidget Churchill, exposed her breasts to a Boston Herald photographer, an incident that drew significant media attention and scrutiny of the agency. Questions persisted regarding the circumstances of the cruise, including why Churchill exposed herself and who notified the media of the time and date of the event.

Following his departure from MassPort, Blute transitioned to a career in talk radio. Beginning in 1999, he served as a morning drive-time host on WRKO in Boston from 5:30 to 9:00 a.m. He co-hosted with Andy Moes from 1999 to 2001, with John Osterlind from 2001 to 2003, and with Scott Allen Miller from 2003 until his departure from WRKO on October 3, 2005. In early 2006, he moved to AM 830 WCRN in Worcester, where he hosted the station’s 6:00 to 9:00 a.m. drive-time program, remaining there until May 27, 2011. His radio work kept him engaged in public affairs and political commentary, maintaining his visibility in Massachusetts political circles.

Blute remained active in party politics after his broadcasting career. On December 21, 2011, he was named deputy chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party, taking on a leadership role in state-level party organization and strategy. Throughout his career in elective office, public administration, and media, he continued to live in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, maintaining his longstanding connection to the region where he was raised and first entered public life.