Gerry Studds (1937 - 2006) was a Democratic congressman from Massachusetts from 1973 - 1997. Studds was the first openly gay candidate elected to national office, although he was not openly gay when he first ran. In 1983 he was censured by the US House of Representatives after admitting to an affair with a 17-year-old male congressional page 10 years earlier.[1] The Democrats defended Studds then and then attacked Mark Foley for less severe behavior.