Massachusetts's 5th congressional district is a

congressional district 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 ...

in eastern

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 ...

. The district is represented by

Katherine Clark Katherine Marlea Clark (born July 17, 1963) is an American politician who has served as the U.S. Representative for Massachusetts's 5th congressional district since 2013. She has been Assistant House Democratic Leader (officially Assistant Spea ...

. Massachusetts congressional redistricting after the 2010 census has 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. Its current municipalities are Arlington, Ashland, Belmont, parts of Cambridge, Framingham, Holliston, Lexington, Lincoln, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Natick, Revere, Sherborn, Southborough, Stoneham, parts of Sudbury, Waltham, Watertown, Wayland, Weston, Winchester, Winthrop, and Woburn, which are primarily found in Middlesex as well as Suffolk and Worcester Counties. As of 2010, the population of the 5th congressional district was 727,515. On July 15, 2013,

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. representa ...

resigned from the seat to become the junior Senator from Massachusetts. On December 10, 2013, Democrat

won a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...

to fill the seat for the remainder of the 113th Congress. She was sworn into office on December 12, 2013 and serves as the Assistant Speaker of the United States House of Representatives for the 117th Congress.

Demographics

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 Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

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 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 ...

William Weld,

Paul Celluci Argeo Paul Cellucci (; April 24, 1948 – June 8, 2013) was an American politician and diplomat from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. A Republican, he served as the 69th governor of Massachusetts from 1999 to 2001, and as the United States Am ...

, and

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...

. In the 2007 special election to replace

Marty Meehan Martin Thomas Meehan (born December 30, 1956) is an American academic administrator, politician, and attorney. Since July 2015, Meehan has served as the President of the University of Massachusetts after serving as Chancellor of the University of ...

, Republican candidate Jim Ogonowski ran an unexpectedly strong race, ultimately losing 51-45%.

Election results from presidential races

Recent election results

List of members representing the district

References

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
{{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