2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts

The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts were held on November 3, 2020, to elect the nine U.S. representatives from the state of Massachusetts, one from each of the state's nine congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. Primary elections were held on September 1.

Overview

District 1

The 1st district is based in the western and central parts of the state, and includes the city of Springfield. The incumbent was Democrat Richard Neal, who was reelected with 97.6% of the vote in 2018 without major-party opposition.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Richard Neal, incumbent U.S. representative

Eliminated in primary

Alex Morse, mayor of Holyoke

Declined

Tahirah Amatul-Wadud, attorney and candidate for Massachusetts's 1st congressional district in 2018
David Daley, author and former editor-in-chief of Salon

Endorsements

Polling

Debate

Primary results

Republican primary

Candidates

Withdrawn

John Cain, businessman and former Navy officer

General election

Predictions

Results

District 2

The 2nd congressional district is in central Massachusetts and includes Worcester. The incumbent was Democrat Jim McGovern, who was reelected with 67.1% of the vote in 2018.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Jim McGovern, incumbent U.S. representative

Primary results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Tracy Lovvorn, healthcare operations manager and nominee for Massachusetts's 2nd congressional district in 2018

Primary results

General election

Predictions

Results

District 3

The 3rd district is based in northeastern and central Massachusetts, and includes the cities of Lowell, Lawrence, and Haverhill. The incumbent was Democrat Lori Trahan, who was elected with 62.0% of the vote in 2018.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Lori Trahan, incumbent U.S. representative

Declined

Dan Koh, Andover selectman, former chief of staff to Boston mayor Marty Walsh, and candidate for Massachusetts's 3rd congressional district in 2018

Endorsements

Primary results

General election

Predictions

Results

District 4

The 4th congressional district is mostly in southern Massachusetts and includes Brookline, the southwestern suburbs of Boston, and northern Bristol County. The incumbent was Democrat Joe Kennedy III, who was reelected with 97.7% of the vote in 2018 without major-party opposition. On September 21, 2019, Kennedy announced that he would not seek reelection, instead challenging incumbent U.S. Senator Ed Markey in the Democratic primary for the 2020 United States Senate election in Massachusetts.

The open seat attracted 12 candidates to file for the primary. On September 4, the Associated Press called the race for Jake Auchincloss, who won with 34,971 votes, a 1.4% margin over Jesse Mermell. Auchincloss went on to defeat Republican Julie Hall in the general election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Jake Auchincloss, Newton city councilor, U.S. Marine veteran, and former Republican political organizer for Governor Charlie Baker's 2014 campaign

Eliminated in primary

Becky Grossman, Newton city councilor
Alan Khazei, co-founder and former CEO of City Year and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2010
Ihssane Leckey, former Wall Street regulator
Natalia Linos, epidemiologist and executive director of the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University
Jesse Mermell, former Brookline select boardmember and former aide to former governor Deval Patrick
Ben Sigel, attorney and former president of the Hispanic National Bar Association

Withdrew

David Cavell, Assistant Attorney General of Massachusetts and former aide to President Barack Obama (withdrew on August 13 and endorsed Mermell) (remained on ballot)
Nick Matthew, former public school teacher and nonprofit activist (endorsed Leckey)
Herb Robinson, engineer
Thomas Shack, former Massachusetts State Comptroller (endorsed Cavell, then Khazei)
Chris Zannetos, tech entrepreneur (withdrew on August 26 and endorsed Mermell) (remained on ballot)

Declined

Chris Dempsey, former policy director for Joe Kennedy III's election campaign in 2012
Paul Feeney, state senator
Deb Goldberg, Massachusetts State Treasurer
Jay Gonzalez, former state secretary of administration and finance and nominee for governor of Massachusetts in 2018
Patricia Haddad, state representative
Joe Kennedy III, incumbent U.S. representative (ran for U.S. Senate)
Scott W. Lang, former mayor of New Bedford
Marc Pacheco, state senator
Becca Rausch, state senator
Tommy Vitolo, state representative
Setti Warren, former mayor of Newton
Josh Zakim, former Boston city councilor

Endorsements

Polling

Primary results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Julie Hall, former Attleboro city councilor

Eliminated in primary

David Rosa, U.S. Army veteran

Declined

Shawn Dooley, state representative
Shaunna O'Connell, mayor of Taunton and former state representative
Keiko Orrall, former state representative

Endorsements

Primary results

General election

Predictions

Results

District 5

The 5th congressional district contains Boston's northern and western suburbs, including Malden and Framingham. The incumbent was Democrat Katherine Clark, who was reelected with 75.9% of the vote in 2018.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Katherine Clark, incumbent U.S. representative

Was never in primary.

Raffaele DePalma, demographic analyst

Primary results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Caroline Colarusso, Stoneham selectwoman

Primary results

General election

Predictions

Results

District 6

The 6th district is based in northeastern Massachusetts, and contains most of Essex County, including the North Shore and Cape Ann. The incumbent was Democrat Seth Moulton, who was reelected with 65.2% of the vote in 2018. Moulton was a candidate for the Democratic presidential primary in 2020, and said that he had "no intention of giving up his seat in the House." He won his district's primary with the most votes ever recorded in a House primary election in Massachusetts history.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Seth Moulton, incumbent U.S. representative

Eliminated in primary

Jamie Zahlaway Belsito, Massachusetts PPD commissioner and Salem State University trustee
Angus McQuilken, gun control advocate

Withdrawn

x* Nathaniel Mulcahy, scientist

Massachusetts Teachers Association

Declined

Kim Driscoll, mayor of Salem
Lori Ehrlich, state representative
Terrence Kennedy, member of the 6th district of the Massachusetts Governor's Council
Barbara L'Italien, former state senator and candidate for Massachusetts's 3rd congressional district in 2018
John F. Tierney, former U.S. representative
Paul Tucker, state representative

Endorsements

Nathaniel Mulcahy, withdrawn 6th district candidate

Primary results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

John Paul Moran, businessman

Primary results

Independents

Candidates

Declared

Christopher Fisher, carpenter

General election

Predictions

Results

District 7

The 7th district is in eastern Massachusetts, including roughly three-fourths of Boston and a few of its northern and southern suburbs. The incumbent was Democrat Ayanna Pressley, who defeated ten-term incumbent Mike Capuano in the 2018 primary election and ran against write-in votes only in the general election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Ayanna Pressley, incumbent U.S. Representative

Endorsements

Primary results

Republican primary

In order to qualify for the general election ballot, a write-in candidate must receive at least 2,000 votes.

Candidates

Nominee

Rayla Campbell (write-in), occupational zoning activist

Eliminated in Primary

Rachel Miselman (write-in)

Primary results

General election

Predictions

Results

District 8

The 8th district includes South Boston and the southern Boston metro area. The incumbent was Democrat Stephen F. Lynch, who was reelected with 98.4% of the vote in 2018 without major-party opposition.

Democratic primary

In the Democratic primary, lawyer and ten-term incumbent Lynch defeated progressive challenger Robbie Goldstein, a medical doctor with expertise in infectious diseases and transgender healthcare. Several weeks before the primary, the Boston Globe noted the "stark contrast" between the candidates on several key issues, particularly healthcare and police reform. A proponent of Medicare for All, Goldstein ran on a platform of expanding healthcare access during a campaign overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Lynch, who remains one of only three Democrats in the House who voted against the Affordable Care Act in 2009, advocates reforming the current market-based healthcare system. In the context of nationwide protests against police brutality and killing of unarmed black citizens, Lynch stated his support for efforts to modify qualified immunity for police officers, while Goldstein advocated ending qualified immunity outright.

Goldstein's campaign also highlighted differences between the two candidates on LGBTQ issues and reproductive rights. In the past, Lynch has identified as pro-life, a position he now deems too extreme.

Several Democratic primary challengers over the years have called Lynch too moderate to serve Massachusetts's electorate. In 2010, Lynch responded, "Calling me the least liberal member from Massachusetts is like calling me the slowest Kenyan in the Boston Marathon. It's all relative."

Candidates

Nominee

Stephen F. Lynch, incumbent U.S. representative

Eliminated in primary

Robbie Goldstein, infectious diseases physician at Massachusetts General Hospital

Withdrawn

Mohammad Dar, physician (endorsed Goldstein)
Brianna Wu, video game developer and candidate for Massachusetts's 8th congressional district in 2018

Endorsements

Polling

Primary results

General election

Predictions

Results

District 9

The 9th district encompasses Cape Cod and the South Shore, and extends westward into New Bedford, part of Fall River, and surrounding suburbs. The incumbent was Democrat Bill Keating, who was reelected with 59.4% of the vote in 2018.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Bill Keating, incumbent U.S. representative

Withdrawn

Mark Sylvia, former undersecretary for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs

Declined

Joe Rull, Norwell town selectman

Primary results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Helen Brady, nominee for Massachusetts State Auditor in 2018

Primary results

General election

Predictions

Results

Notes

Partisan clients

References

External links

Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association, "Massachusetts", Voting & Elections Toolkits
"Massachusetts: Election Tools, Deadlines, Dates, Rules, and Links", Vote.org, Oakland, CA
"League of Women Voters of Massachusetts". (state affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters)
Massachusetts at Ballotpedia

Official campaign websites for 1st district candidates