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

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Withdrawn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

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

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

Polling

Primary results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

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
x* Nathaniel Mulcahy, scientist

Primary results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

  • John Paul Moran, businessman

    Primary results

Independents

Candidates

Declared

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, occupational zoning activist
    Eliminated in Primary
  • Rachel Miselman
    Primary results

Independent challenger

Pressley faced an independent challenge from Roy Owens, a perennial candidate. His professional resume included work as a pastor educator, Department of Public Welfare social worker, and Massachusetts Department of Corrections employee. Owens has held a reputation for being right-wing and anti-LGBTQ.

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."