The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the nine

U.S. representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from the state of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, a loss of one seat following the 2010 census,, to be codified at for service in the

113th Congress The 113th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2013, to January 3, 2015, during the fifth and sixth years of Barack Obama's presidency. It was composed of the ...

from January 3, 2013, to January 3, 2015. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

. The candidate elected in each of the state's

congressional districts Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...

was a member the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

Primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

s were held on September 6, 2012. This primary was on a Thursday, which is rare in Massachusetts, and it was moved from Tuesday, September 18, 2012, because of a conflicting religious holiday.

Overview

District 1

Democrat

Richard Neal Richard Edmund Neal (born February 14, 1949) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 1989. The district, numbered as the 2nd district from 1989 to 2013, includes Springfield, West Springfield, Pittsfield, Hol ...

, who has represented the 2nd district since 1989, was redistricted into the 1st district. He ran for re-election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *

, incumbent U.S. Representative

=Eliminated in primary

= *

Andrea F. Nuciforo Jr. Andrea F. Nuciforo Jr. (born February 26, 1964) served as a Democratic State Senator from January 1, 1997, until January 3, 2007, representing the Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin, and Hampden and Berkshire, Hampshire and Franklin Massachusetts ...

, Middle Berkshire Register of Deeds and former

state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

* Bill Shein, writer

Primary results

General election

Results

District 2

Since 1991, Democrat

John Olver John Walter Olver (born September 3, 1936) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 1st congressional district from 1991 to 2013. Raised on a farm in Pennsylvania, Olver graduated from college at the age of ...

, has represented the 1st district, most of which remains in the proposed new 1st district. He was to have been redistricted to the 2nd district, except that he announced his retirement two weeks before the new districts were proposed. Democrat Jim McGovern, who was redistricted from the 3rd district, ran for re-election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= * Jim McGovern, incumbent U.S. Representative

=Eliminated in primary

= *William Feegbeh

=Declined

= *

, incumbent U.S. Representative *

Dennis Rosa Dennis A. Rosa is an American politician who served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives until 2017. He is a Leominster resident and a member of the Democratic Party.

state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

Primary results

Republican primary

Declined

*Gregg Lisciotti,

real estate developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to others. R ...

*Dean Mazzarella, Mayor of

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England, at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of 11,700, Leominster is t ...

General election

Results

District 3

Democrat

Niki Tsongas Nicola Dickson "Niki" Sauvage Tsongas (; born April 26, 1946) is an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts from 2007 to 2019. She held the seat formerly held by her husband, the late Paul Tsongas, for the dis ...

, who was redistricted from the 5th district, ran for re-election. She was unopposed in the primary.

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *

, incumbent U.S. Representative

Primary results

Republican primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= * Jon Golnik, business consultant and nominee for the 5th district in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

=Eliminated in primary

= * Tom Weaver, businessman and candidate for the 5th district in

Primary results

General election

Polling

Results

District 4

Democrat

Barney Frank Barnett Frank (born March 31, 1940) is a former American politician. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts from 1981 to 2013. A Democrat, Frank served as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee ...

, who has represented the 4th district since 1981, retired rather than run for re-election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *

Joseph Kennedy III Joseph Patrick Kennedy III (born October 4, 1980) is an American lawyer, politician and diplomat who currently serves as United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland since 2022. Prior to this, Kennedy served as the U.S. representative for fr ...

, Middlesex County

assistant district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...

=Eliminated in primary

= * Rachel Brown, LaRouche activist and candidate for this seat in

* Herb Robinson,

software engineer Software engineering is a systematic engineering approach to software development. A software engineer is a person who applies the principles of software engineering to design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer software. The term ''p ...

=Withdrawn

= *Paul Heroux, businessman

=Declined

= *

Ruth Balser Ruth B. Balser (born October 30, 1948) is an American state legislator serving in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. She is a Newton resident and a member of the Democratic Party. Balser received her bachelor's degree at the University o ...

*Michael Burstein, author and member of the Brookline

Town Meeting Town meeting is a form of local government in which most or all of the members of a community are eligible to legislate policy and budgets for local government. It is a town- or city-level meeting in which decisions are made, in contrast with ...

* Cynthia Creem, state senator * William A. Flanagan, Mayor of

Fall River Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...

, incumbent U.S. Representative *

Deborah Goldberg Deborah Esther Goldberg is an American ecologist and Margaret Bryan Davis, Margaret B. Davis Distinguished University Professor Emerita and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor Emerita in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the Univers ...

, former chair of the

Brookline Brookline may refer to: Places in the United States * Brookline, Massachusetts, a town near Boston * Brookline, Missouri * Brookline, New Hampshire * Brookline (Pittsburgh), a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania * Brookline, Vermont See ...

Board of Selectmen *

Alan Khazei Alan Khazei (; born May 28, 1961) is an American social entrepreneur. He served as chief executive officer of City Year, an AmeriCorps national service program he co-founded with Michael Brown, his friend and roommate at Harvard College and Har ...

, co-founder of the

City Year City Year is an American education nonprofit organization founded in 1988. The organization partners with public schools in 29 high-need communities across the US and through international affiliates in the UK and Johannesburg, South Africa. Ci ...

non-profit * Jesse Mermell, Brookline Selectwoman *

Marc Pacheco Marc R. Pacheco (born October 29, 1952 in Taunton, Massachusetts) is an American state legislature (United States), state legislator serving in the Massachusetts Senate. He represents the Massachusetts Senate's 1st Plymouth and Bristol district, 1 ...

, state senator *

Michael P. Ross Michael P. Ross is an American lawyer and former politician from Boston, Massachusetts, who represented District 8 (which includes Beacon Hill, Back Bay, and the Fenway) on the Boston City Council from 2000 through 2013. He was an unsuccessful ...

, Boston City Councilor * James Segel, former

*David Simas, former policy adviser to

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Deval Patrick Deval Laurdine Patrick (born July 31, 1956) is an American politician, civil rights lawyer, author, and businessman who served as the 71st governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. He was first elected in 2006, succeeding Mitt Romney, who ...

Sam Sutter Clifford Samuel “Sam” Sutter is an American attorney and politician who served as the District Attorney of Bristol County, Massachusetts, from 2007 to 2014, and then as the List of mayors of Fall River, Massachusetts, 43rd Mayor of Fall River ...

, Bristol County

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

* James E. Timilty, state senator *

Setti Warren Setti David Warren (born August 25, 1970) is an American politician. He served as List of mayors of Newton, Massachusetts, Mayor of Newton, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston, and is a former Democratic Party (United States), Democratic candidate f ...

, mayor of

Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...

* Mike Rodrigues,

James Vallee James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

, state representative

Primary results

Republican primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= * Sean Bielat, technology executive and nominee for this seat in

=Eliminated in primary

= * Elizabeth Childs, psychiatrist and member of the

School Committee * David Steinhof,

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the mouth, oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofaci ...

=Declined

= *

Jay Barrows Fred Jay Barrows (born April 5, 1956, in Attleboro, Massachusetts) is the current member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives for the 1st Bristol district. Barrows has represented the district since 2007. Electoral History ...

, state representative *

Brian Herr The 2014 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, concurrently with the 2014 Massachusetts gubernato ...

, former Hopkinton Selectman * Richard J. Ross, state senator * Tom Wesley, businessman and nominee for the 2nd district in

Primary results

General election

Polling

Results

District 5

Democrat

Ed Markey Edward John Markey (born July 11, 1946) is an American lawyer, politician, and former Army reservist who has served as the junior United States senator from Massachusetts since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representati ...

was redistricted from the 7th district, having represented it since 1976.

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *

, incumbent U.S. Representative

Primary results

Republican primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= * Tom Tierney, consulting actuary

=Eliminated in primary

= * Frank John Addivinola, Jr., attorney * Jeff Semon, financial consultant

=Withdrawn

= * Gerry Dembrowski, physician and nominee for the 7th district in

Primary results

General election

Results

District 6

Democrat John Tierney has represented the 6th district since 1997. Daniel Fishman, a

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

candidate, who has never run for office before also ran. Veteran and military commentator

Seth Moulton Seth Wilbur Moulton (born October 24, 1978) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 6th congressional district since 2015. A former Marine Corps officer, he is a member of the Democratic Party. After gra ...

considered running in the general election as an Independent, but decided against it in July 2012, citing the short time frame left for him to mount a serious campaign.

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= * John Tierney, incumbent U.S. Representative

Primary results

Republican primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *

Richard R. Tisei Richard R. Tisei (; born August 13, 1962) is an American politician and realtor from Massachusetts. A Republican, he served in both chambers of the Massachusetts General Court for a combined 26 years, eventually becoming Minority Leader in the Ma ...

, former Minority Leader of the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the ...

and nominee for Lieutenant Governor in

=Withdrawn

= * Bill Hudak,

Tea Party A tea party is a social gathering event held in the afternoon. For centuries, many societies have cherished drinking tea with a company at noon. Tea parties are considered for formal business meetings, social celebrations or just as an afternoon ...

-endorsed lawyer and candidate for this seat in

but withdrew on January 23, 2012, to pursue "a business opportunity".

Primary results

General election

Endorsements

Polling

Predictions

Results

District 7

In the redistricting Act, this district became a

majority-minority district A majority-minority district is an electoral district, such as a United States congressional district, in which the majority of the constituents in the district are racial or ethnic minorities (as opposed to Non-Hispanic whites in the U.S.). Race ...

, increasing its reach over several minority precincts near Boston. Democrat

Mike Capuano Michael Everett Capuano ( ; born January 9, 1952) is an American politician and attorney who served as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts from 1999 to 2019. A Democrat, his district included the northern three-fourths of Boston, as well a ...

, who was redistricted from the 8th district, having represented it since 1999, ran for re-election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *

, incumbent U.S. Representative

Primary results

Independents

*Karla Romero, founding President and CEO of the non-profit Mass Appeal International and a former

Miss USA Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020, ...

contestant

General election

Results

District 8

Democrat Stephen Lynch, who was redistricted from the old 9th district, will run in the 8th district. Democrat

William R. Keating William Richard Keating (born September 6, 1952) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 9th congressional district since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he first entered Congress in 2 ...

, who was redistricted from the old , announced that he would move to

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

(where he already has a summer home), and run there, putting him in the new 9th district (most of which includes his incumbent district) instead of competing against Lynch.

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= * Stephen Lynch, incumbent U.S. Representative

=Declined

= *

, incumbent U.S. Representative

Primary results

Republican primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= * Joe Selvaggi, US Navy veteran of the first Gulf War and small business owner

=Eliminated in primary

= * Matias Temperley,

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

veteran and student

Primary results

General election

Results

District 9

There was no incumbent currently residing in this district, but incumbent Democrat

, who has represented most of the district for the last two years when it was the , has a summer home there. As discussed above, he moved to the 9th District. Bristol County

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= * William R. Keating, incumbent

=Eliminated in primary

= *

, Bristol County

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

=Declined

= *

Mark Montigny Mark C. Montigny (born June 20, 1961) is a Massachusetts state senator for the Second Bristol and Plymouth district, which includes his hometown of New Bedford and several nearby towns. He is a Democrat who has served since 1993.William A. Flanagan, Mayor of

* Scott W. Lang, former Mayor of

New Bedford New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American pe ...

Therese Murray Therese Murray (born October 10, 1947 in Boston) is an American politician who served as President of the Massachusetts Senate from 2007 to 2015. Murray, a Democrat, was the first woman to lead a house of the Massachusetts General Court. She repre ...

President of the Massachusetts Senate The president of the Massachusetts Senate is the presiding officer. Unlike the United States Congress, in which the vice president of the United States is the ''ex officio'' president of the United States Senate, in Massachusetts, the president of ...

Robert O'Leary Robert A. O'Leary is a former member of the Massachusetts Senate ( D- Barnstable) who served from 2001 to 2011. He was a candidate in the 2010 Democratic primary for Massachusetts's 10th congressional district. Early life and career O'Leary ...

, former state senator

Primary results

Republican primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= * Christopher Sheldon, businessman

=Eliminated in primary

= * Adam Chaprales, former

Sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

Selectman

=Declined

= *

Timothy Cruz B3 was an American pop music, pop boy band from New York City. They were formed in 2001 and were first produced by O-Jay of German dance band Real McCoy (band), Real McCoy. Original members were Tim Cruz, Timothy Andrew Cruz (2001–2004), John St ...

, Plymouth County District Attorney *

Vinny deMacedo Viriato Manuel Pereira de Macedo (born October 16, 1965), also popularly known as Vinny deMacedo, is a Cape Verdean American politician, and was the Massachusetts State Senator for the Plymouth and Barnstable District, which comprises the comm ...

, state representative * Thomas Hodgson, Bristol County

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

* Jeff Perry, former state representative

Republican nominee for Massachusetts' 10th congressional district will not run.

General election

Results

References

External links

Elections Division
of the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth

from OurCampaigns.com
Campaign contributions for U.S. Congressional races in Massachusetts
from

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP). ...

Outside spending
at the

Sunlight Foundation The Sunlight Foundation was an American 501(c)(3) nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that advocated for open government. The organization was founded in April 2006 with the goal of increasing transparency and accountability in the United States ...

Local politics
at ''

The Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Pulit ...

'' * {{United States general elections, 2012

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...