MARION — Mattapoisett Select Board member Tyler Macallister is looking to bring a more conservative perspective from Massachusetts’ 9th congressional district to the House of Representatives as he announced his campaign for a congressional seat.

“There’s a lot of interest to the west of here, as I saw in the polls, to be more conservative, which is great because conservative is what we need to be,” he said at a Marion Republican Town Committee meeting on Monday, June 9.

The 9th congressional district of Massachusetts, which has been represented by Democrat Bill Keating since 2013, includes the South Coast, the Cape and Islands and the South Shore.

“I believe this is a very winnable race based upon what happened in 2024,” said Macallister.

Macallister flew to Washington, D.C. recently and spent several days meeting with White House staff and “kicking the whole thing off.”

With his education and 14 years of experience as a Mattapoisett Select Board member, Macallister believes he has the knowledge and understanding of the area to take on the congressional role.

“I do have a finance background myself, master’s in business, as well as [a degree in] marine biology, but I’m really a fisherman,” said Macallister. “One of the things that’s missing and been missing in this district is representation to the fishermen and the fisheries.”

Macallister grew up on the Cape fishing and hunting in his childhood and said he believes that someone who understands the area should represent it.

He emphasized that the Massachusetts government should focus on financial conservatism by “looking hard” at budgets and how money is spent.