Ackert is the legislature's poster boy for persistence, an example that Republican State Chairman Chris Healy cites when he talks about how the Republicans can narrow the gap with the legislature's Democrat majority. He lost by 1,961 votes to Lewis in 2006, then cut the margin to less than 1,000 votes in 2008. In 2010, he won.Ackert is an Air Force veteran, a former president of the Connecticut Jaycees who also has served on the Connecticut Community College board of trustees.Ackert lives in the town of Coventry, with his wife Teddie and two children Taylor and Travis.