Massachusetts's 5th congressional district is a
congressional district in eastern
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
. The district is represented by
Katherine Clark of the
Democratic Party. Massachusetts's congressional redistricting after the
2010 census changed the borders of the district starting with the elections of 2012, with the new
3rd district largely taking the place of the old 5th. The 5th district covers many of the communities represented in the old
7th district.
On July 15, 2013,
Ed Markey resigned from the seat to become the junior Senator from Massachusetts. On December 10, 2013, Democrat Katherine Clark won a
special election to fill the seat for the remainder of the
113th Congress. She was sworn into office on December 12, 2013, and since January 2023 serves as the
House Minority Whip.
The district has been in Democratic hands without interruption since 1975. Before
Paul Tsongas' victory that year, it had only elected three Democrats in its entire existence and had been in
Republican hands since 1895. It was one of the more moderate districts in heavily Democratic Massachusetts before redistricting in 2013. In state races, it supported Republican candidates for
Governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
William Weld,
Paul Celluci, and
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...
. In the 2007 special election to replace
Marty Meehan, Republican candidate
Jim Ogonowski ran an unexpectedly strong race before ultimately losing, 51–45%.
Composition
Massachusetts's congressional redistricting after the
2020 census (commencing with the 2022 election and the 118th Congress, whose House members were sworn in on January 3, 2023) assigns the 5th congressional district to much of
Middlesex County, part of
Norfolk County, and part of
Suffolk County.
and geography
Current
There are 23 municipalities in the 5th district, as of the 2021 redistricting. This list is sorted by county.
Middlesex County (20)
:
Arlington,
Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district.
Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...
(part; also
6th),
Belmont,
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
(part; also
7th),
Framingham,
Lexington,
Lincoln,
Malden,
Maynard,
Medford,
Melrose,
Natick,
Stoneham,
Sudbury,
Waltham,
Watertown,
Wayland,
Weston
Weston may refer to:
Places Australia
* Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra
* Weston, New South Wales
* Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra
* Weston Park, Canberra, a park
Canada
* Weston, Nova Scotia
* W ...
,
Winchester
Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...
,
Woburn
Norfolk County (1)
:
Wellesley (part; also
4th)
Suffolk County (2)
:
Revere,
Winthrop
Past
From 2013 through 2023, the municipalities of the 5th District were:
Middlesex County
*
Arlington
*
Ashland
*
Belmont
*
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
(parts of)
*
Framingham
*
Holliston
*
Lexington
*
Lincoln
*
Malden
*
Medford
*
Melrose
*
Natick
*
Sherborn
*
Stoneham
*
Sudbury (parts of)
*
Waltham
*
Watertown
*
Wayland
*
Weston
Weston may refer to:
Places Australia
* Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra
* Weston, New South Wales
* Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra
* Weston Park, Canberra, a park
Canada
* Weston, Nova Scotia
* W ...
*
Winchester
Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...
*
Woburn
Other
*
Revere, Suffolk County
*
Southborough,
Worcester County
*
Winthrop, Suffolk County
Recent election results from statewide races
Recent election results
2024
List of members representing the district
References
Further reading
*
*
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 resultsCNN.com 2006 election resultsAssociated Press 2007 election resultsMassachusetts Elections Division 2008 Return of Votes
{{Coord, 42, 21, 19, N, 71, 17, 54, W, region:US_type:city_source:kolossus-eswiki, display=title
05
Government of Essex County, Massachusetts
Government of Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Government in Worcester County, Massachusetts
1789 establishments in Massachusetts
Constituencies established in 1789
Ed Markey