After leaving the active duty Air Force, he re-entered politics, running for and winning the 61st District of the Ohio House of Representatives in 2000. In 2006, he won a seat in the Ohio State Senate in District 33; he was unopposed.
In his memoir, A Promised Land, Barack Obama described Boccieri as a "rising star" of the Democratic Party and one of the political neophytes who decided to support the healthcare reform bill despite political risks.[6]
There had been speculation throughout 2007 that Boccieri would challenge U.S. RepresentativeRalph Regula to represent the 16th District in the U.S. House, a seat Regula had held for 36 years. When Regula announced his retirement in late 2007, Boccieri faced an open field. He defeated State Representative Mary Cirelli with 64% of the vote in the Democratic primary. He faced and defeated State Senator Kirk Schuring in the general election.[7] He was the first Democrat to represent this district in 58 years.[8]
On October 30, 2010, Boccieri ran offstage while former President Bill Clinton was giving a speech after learning that his pregnant wife was in labor.[9]
On November 2, 2010, Boccieri lost his bid for a second term in Congress after being defeated by Republican businessman Jim Renacci. He was defeated handily in an overwhelmingly Republican election cycle; Boccieri received only 41% of the vote, compared to 52% for Renacci (a Libertarian candidate took the remaining votes).[10]
Return to Ohio House of Representatives
On September 29, 2015, Boccieri was appointed to the Ohio House of Representatives, filling the 59th District vacancy caused by the resignation of Ron Gerberry.[11] He did not run for re-election in 2018, instead opting to run for the 33rd District seat in the Ohio State Senate, losing to Michael Rulli in the general election.
