Barney Frank Returns To House For 16th Term

BOSTON (AP) -- Voters in Massachusetts' 4th Congressional District have re-elected U.S. Rep. Barney Frank to a 16th term, rejecting a GOP challenge from political newcomer Sean Bielat.

Frank had emerged as one of Capitol Hill's most powerful Democrats while shepherding both the Wall Street overhaul bill and one of the nation's most sweeping financial regulatory bills through the House.

Rep. Barney Frank talks about the shift of control in the House

That role helped make the 70-year-old Frank a lightning rod for conservatives who poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into Bielat's upstart campaign.

Bielat, a 35-year-old businessman and former U.S. Marine, had been given little chance of unseating Frank, who did not have a GOP opponent in the last three election cycles.

Frank had rarely been challenged seriously during his years in Congress.