Massachusetts's 5th congressional district

Massachusetts's 5th congressional district
Current Representative		Niki Tsongas (D–Lowell)
Area	565.75 mi²
Distribution	60.11% urban, 39.89% rural
Population (2000)	635,223
Median income	$56,217
Ethnicity	79.6% White, 1.6% Black, 5.3% Asian, 11.7% Hispanic, 0.2% Native American, 1.6% other
Occupation	20.9% blue collar, 66.9% white collar, 12.1% gray collar
Cook PVI	D+8

Massachusetts's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in northeastern Massachusetts. It contains the cities of Lowell, Lawrence, Haverhill, and Methuen. The seat is held by Democrat Niki Tsongas having won a special election on October 16, 2007.

Cities and towns in the district

The district currently contains the following municipalities:

In Essex County:

Andover, Haverhill, Lawrence, Methuen.

In Middlesex County

Acton, Ayer, Billerica, Boxborough, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Concord, Dracut, Dunstable, Groton, Hudson, Littleton, Lowell, Maynard, Shirley, Stow, Sudbury, Tewksbury, Tyngsborough, Wayland (Precincts 1, 3, and 4), Westford.

In Worcester County:

Berlin, Bolton, Harvard, Lancaster.

Demographics

The district has been in Democratic hands without interruption since 1974. Before Paul Tsongas' victory that year, it had only elected three Democrats in its entire existence and had been in Republican hands since 1895.

Although its Cook Partisan Voting Index score would indicate a safe Democratic district, it is actually one of the more moderate districts in heavily Democratic Massachusetts. In state races, it supported Republican candidates for Governor William Weld, Paul Celluci, and Mitt Romney and only narrowly supported Deval Patrick, who won by a large margin statewide.^{[citation needed]} In the 2007 special election to replace Marty Meehan, Republican candidate Jim Ogonowski ran an unexpectedly strong race, ultimately losing 51-45%.

Recent election results

U.S. House election, 1990: Massachusetts District 5
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Chester G. Atkins	110,232	49.85
	Republican	John MacGovern	101,017	45.68
	Other		9,891	4.47
Turnout			221,140
	Democratic hold		Swing

U.S. House election, 1992: Massachusetts District 5
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Marty Meehan	133,844	52.17	+2.32
	Republican	Paul W. Cronin	96,206	37.50	-8.18
	Independent	Mary Farinelli	19,077	7.44	+7.44
	Independent	David E. Coleman	7,214	2.81	+2.81
	Write-in		223	0.09	-4.38
Turnout			256,564
	Democratic hold		Swing	+2.32

U.S. House election, 1994: Massachusetts District 5
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Marty Meehan	140,725	69.83	+17.66
	Republican	David E. Coleman	60,734	30.14	-7.36
	Write-in		65	0.03	-0.06
Turnout			201,524
	Democratic hold		Swing	+17.66

U.S. House election, 1996: Massachusetts District 5
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Marty Meehan	183,429	99.08	+29.25
	Republican	Unopposed			-30.14
	Write-in		1,708	0.92	+0.89
Turnout			185,137
	Democratic hold		Swing	+29.25

U.S. House election, 1998: Massachusetts District 5
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Marty Meehan	127,418	70.70	-28.38
	Republican	David E. Coleman	52,725	29.25	+29.25
	Write-in		87	0.05	-0.87
Turnout			180,230
	Democratic hold		Swing	-28.38

U.S. House election, 2000: Massachusetts District 5
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Marty Meehan	199,601	98.02	+27.32
	Republican	Unopposed			-29.25
	Write-in		4,040	1.98	+1.93
Turnout			203,641
	Democratic hold		Swing	+27.32

U.S. House election, 2002: Massachusetts District 5
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Marty Meehan	122,562	60.15	-37.87
	Republican	Charles McCarthy	69,337	34.03	+34.03
	Libertarian	Ilana Freedman	11,729	5.76	+5.76
	Write-in		149	0.07	-1.91
Turnout			203,777
	Democratic hold		Swing	-37.87

U.S. House election, 2004: Massachusetts District 5
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Marty Meehan	179,652	66.99	+6.84
	Republican	Thomas Tierney	88,232	32.90	-1.13
	Write-in		305	0.11	+0.04
Turnout			268,189
	Democratic hold		Swing	+6.84

U.S. House election, 2006: Massachusetts District 5
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Marty Meehan	159,120	98.98	+31.99
	Republican	Unopposed			-32.90
	Write-in		3,152	1.02	+0.91
Turnout			216,832
	Democratic hold		Swing	+31.99

Special election, 2007: Massachusetts District 5
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Niki Tsongas	54,363	51.32	-47.66
	Republican	Jim Ogonowski	47,770	45.10	+45.10
	Independent	Patrick Murphy	2,170	2.05	+2.05
	Independent	Kurt Hayes	1,125	1.06	+1.06
	Constitution	Kevin Thompson	494	0.47	+0.47
Turnout			105,922
	Democratic hold		Swing	-47.66

U.S. House election, 2008: Massachusetts District 5
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Niki Tsongas	225,947	98.71	+37.39
	Republican	Unopposed			-45.10
	All Others		2,960	1.29	-2.29
Turnout			302,397
	Democratic hold		Swing	+37.39

U.S. House election, 2010: Massachusetts District 5
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Niki Tsongas	122,858	54.84	-43.87
	Republican	Jonathan A. Golnik	94,646	42.25	+42.25
	Independent	Dale E. Brown	4,387	1.96	+1.96
	Independent	Robert M. Clark	1,991	0.89	+0.89
	All Others		147	0.07	-1.22
Turnout			229,647
	Democratic hold		Swing	-43.87

List of Representatives

Representative	Party	Years ↑	District home	Note
George Partridge	Pro- Administration	March 4, 1789 – August 14, 1790	Duxbury	Resigned
Vacant		August 15, 1790 – March 4, 1791
Shearjashub Bourne	Pro- Administration	March 4, 1791 – March 4, 1793	Boston	Redistricted to 3rd district
District eliminated		March 4, 1793 – March 4, 1795
Nathaniel Freeman, Jr.	Democratic- Republican	March 4, 1795 – March 4, 1799	Sandwich
Lemuel Williams	Federalist	March 4, 1799 – March 4, 1803	New Bedford	Redistricted to 8th district
Thomas Dwight	Federalist	March 4, 1803 – March 4, 1805	Springfield
William Ely	Federalist	March 4, 1805 – March 4, 1815	Springfield
Elijah H. Mills	Federalist	March 4, 1815 – March 4, 1819	Northampton
Samuel Lathrop	Federalist	March 4, 1819 – March 4, 1823	West Springfield	Redistricted to the 8th district
Jonas Sibley	Adams-Clay Republican	March 4, 1823 – March 4, 1825	Sutton	Lost re-election
John Davis	Adams	March 4, 1825 – March 4, 1829	Worcester	Resigned after election to Governor
	National Republican	March 4, 1829 – January 14, 1834
Vacant		January 15, 1834 – February 16, 1834
Levi Lincoln, Jr.	National Republican	February 17, 1834 – March 4, 1837	Worcester	Resigned after appointment to Collector of the Port of Boston
	Whig	March 4, 1837 – March 16, 1841
Vacant		March 17, 1841 – May 2, 1841
Charles Hudson	Whig	May 3, 1841 – March 4, 1849	Westminster
Charles Allen	Free Soil	March 4, 1849 – March 4, 1853	Worcester	Redistricted to the 9th district
William Appleton	Whig	May 3, 1853 – March 4, 1855	Boston	Redistricted from the 1st district Lost re-election
Anson Burlingame	American	March 4, 1855 – March 4, 1857	Boston
	Republican	March 4, 1857 – March 4, 1861
William Appleton	Constitutional Unionist	March 4, 1861 – September 27, 1861	Boston	Resigned because of failing health
Vacant		September 28, 1861 – December 1, 1861
Samuel Hooper	Republican	December 2, 1861 – March 4, 1863	Boston	Redistricted to the 4th district
John B. Alley	Republican	March 4, 1863 – March 4, 1867	Lynn	Redistricted from 6th district
Benjamin F. Butler	Republican	March 4, 1867 – March 4, 1873	Lowell	Redistricted to the 6th district
Daniel W. Gooch	Republican	March 4, 1873 – March 4, 1875	Melrose	Lost re-election
Nathaniel P. Banks	Independent	March 4, 1875 – March 4, 1877	Waltham
	Republican	March 4, 1877 – March 4, 1879
Selwyn Z. Bowman	Republican	March 4, 1879 – March 4, 1883	Somerville
Leopold Morse	Democratic	March 4, 1883 – March 4, 1885	Boston	Redistricted from the 4th district
Edward D. Hayden	Republican	March 4, 1885 – March 4, 1889	Woburn
Nathaniel P. Banks	Republican	March 4, 1889 – March 4, 1891	Waltham	Redistricted from the 8th district Retired
Sherman Hoar	Democratic	March 4, 1891 – March 4, 1893	Concord
Moses T. Stephens	Democratic	March 4, 1893 – March 4, 1895	North Andover	Redistricted from the 8th district
William S. Knox	Republican	March 4, 1895 – March 4, 1903	Lawrence	Retired
Butler Ames	Republican	March 4, 1903 – March 4, 1913	Lowell	Retired
John Jacob Rogers	Republican	March 4, 1913 – March 28, 1925	Lowell	Died
Vacant		March 28, 1925 – June 30, 1925
Edith Nourse Rogers	Republican	June 30, 1925 – September 10, 1960	Lowell	Died
Vacant		September 10, 1960 – January 3, 1961
Frank Bradford Morse	Republican	January 3, 1961 – May 1, 1972	Lowell	Resigned after appointment to Under Secretary General for Political and General Assembly Affairs at the United Nations
Vacant		May 1, 1972 – January 3, 1973
Paul W. Cronin	Republican	January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1975	Andover	Lost re-election
Paul Tsongas	Democratic	January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1979	Lowell	Retired to run for U.S. Senate
James Shannon	Democratic	January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1985	Lawrence	Retired to run for U.S. Senate
Chester G. Atkins	Democratic	January 3, 1985 – January 3, 1993	Concord	Lost renomination
Marty Meehan	Democratic	January 3, 1993 – July 1, 2007	Lowell	Resigned to become Chancellor of University of Massachusetts Lowell
Vacant		July 1, 2007 – October 16, 2007
Niki Tsongas	Democratic	October 16, 2007 – present	Lowell	Special election, Incumbent
Representative	Party	Years ↑	District home	Note

References

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. 
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. 
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

External links

Maps

• Map of Massachusetts's 5th Congressional District, via Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth

Election results

• CNN.com 2004 election results
• CNN.com 2006 election results
• Associated Press 2007 election results
• Massachusetts Elections Division 2008 Return of Votes