Massachusetts' 5th Congressional District election, 2020

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Massachusetts' 5th Congressional District
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: May 5, 2020 (local) & June 2, 2020 (state)[1]
Primary: September 1, 2020
General: November 3, 2020
Pre-election incumbent:
Katherine Clark (Democrat)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voting in Massachusetts
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic
Inside Elections: Solid Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020
See also
Massachusetts' 5th Congressional District
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th
Massachusetts elections, 2020
U.S. Congress elections, 2020
U.S. Senate elections, 2020
U.S. House elections, 2020

All U.S. congressional districts, including the 5th Congressional District of Massachusetts, held elections in 2020.

Incumbent Katherine Clark won election in the general election for U.S. House Massachusetts District 5.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
May 5, 2020 (local) & June 2, 2020 (state)[1]
September 1, 2020
November 3, 2020


Heading into the election the incumbent was Democrat Katherine Clark, who was first elected in 2013.

Massachusetts' 5th Congressional District is located in the eastern portion of the state and includes parts of Middlesex, Suffolk, and Worcester counties.[2]

Post-election analysis

The table below compares the vote totals in the 2020 presidential election and 2020 U.S. House election for this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

Presidential and congressional election results, Massachusetts' 5th Congressional District, 2020
Race Presidential U.S. House
Democratic candidate Democratic Party 74.5 74.3
Republican candidate Republican Party 23.9 25.6
Difference 50.6 48.7

Election procedure changes in 2020

See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.

Massachusetts modified its absentee/mail-in procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:

  • Absentee/mail-in voting: Absentee/mail-in voting eligibility was extended to all qualified voters in the general election.

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.

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Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House Massachusetts District 5

Incumbent Katherine Clark defeated Caroline Colarusso in the general election for U.S. House Massachusetts District 5 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Katherine_Clark.jpg
Katherine Clark (D)
 
74.3
 
294,427
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Caroline_Colarusso.JPG
Caroline Colarusso (R) Candidate Connection
 
25.6
 
101,351
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
405

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 396,183
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Massachusetts District 5

Incumbent Katherine Clark advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Massachusetts District 5 on September 1, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Katherine_Clark.jpg
Katherine Clark
 
99.4
 
162,768
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.6
 
938

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 163,706
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Massachusetts District 5

Caroline Colarusso advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Massachusetts District 5 on September 1, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Caroline_Colarusso.JPG
Caroline Colarusso Candidate Connection
 
98.2
 
18,818
 Other/Write-in votes
 
1.8
 
336

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 19,154
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

There are no Pivot Counties in Massachusetts. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

In the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton (D) won Massachusetts with 60 percent of the vote. Donald Trump (R) received 32.8 percent. In presidential elections between 1789 and 2016, Massachusetts voted Republican 36.2 percent of the time and Democratic 34.4 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, Massachusetts voted Democratic all five times.[3]

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Massachusetts. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[4][5]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 135 out of 160 state House districts in Massachusetts with an average margin of victory of 31.6 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 141 out of 160 state House districts in Massachusetts with an average margin of victory of 34.1 points. Clinton won 21 districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 25 out of 160 state House districts in Massachusetts with an average margin of victory of 4.1 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 19 out of 160 state House districts in Massachusetts with an average margin of victory of 5.5 points. Trump won five districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+18, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 18 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Massachusetts' 5th Congressional District the 74th most Democratic nationally.[6]

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 0.98. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 0.98 points toward that party.[7]

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[8] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[9] The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Katherine Clark Democratic Party $1,815,928 $1,542,099 $1,292,775 As of December 31, 2020
Caroline Colarusso Republican Party $152,302 $150,639 $1,663 As of December 31, 2020

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.


Race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from three outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, and Sabato's Crystal Ball. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[10]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[11][12][13]

Race ratings: Massachusetts' 5th Congressional District election, 2020
Race trackerRace ratings
November 3, 2020October 27, 2020October 20, 2020October 13, 2020
The Cook Political ReportSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season.

Candidate ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for 5th Congressional District candidates in Massachusetts in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Massachusetts, click here.

Filing requirements, 2020
State Office Party Signatures required Signature formula Filing fee Filing fee formula Filing deadline Source
Massachusetts 5th Congressional District All parties 2,000 Fixed number N/A N/A 6/2/2020 Source
Massachusetts 5th Congressional District Unaffiliated 2,000 Fixed number N/A N/A 8/25/2020 Source

District election history

2018

See also: Massachusetts' 5th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Massachusetts District 5

Incumbent Katherine Clark defeated John Hugo in the general election for U.S. House Massachusetts District 5 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Katherine_Clark.jpg
Katherine Clark (D)
 
75.9
 
236,243
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/John_Hugo.jpg
John Hugo (R) Candidate Connection
 
24.0
 
74,856
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
225

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 311,324
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Massachusetts District 5

Incumbent Katherine Clark advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Massachusetts District 5 on September 4, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Katherine_Clark.jpg
Katherine Clark
 
100.0
 
78,156

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 78,156
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Massachusetts District 5

John Hugo defeated Louis Kuchnir in the Republican primary for U.S. House Massachusetts District 5 on September 4, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/John_Hugo.jpg
John Hugo Candidate Connection
 
63.7
 
11,859
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Louis Kuchnir
 
36.3
 
6,763

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 18,622
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2016

See also: Massachusetts' 5th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent Katherine Clark (D) was the only candidate to file in the district. Because of this, Clark won re-election by default in the November 8, 2016 general election.[14][15]

U.S. House, Massachusetts District 5 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngKatherine Clark Incumbent 98.6% 285,606
     N/A Write-in 1.4% 4,201
Total Votes 289,807
Source: Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth

2014

See also: Massachusetts' 5th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 5th Congressional District of Massachusetts held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Katherine Clark (D) won an uncontested general election.

U.S. House, Massachusetts District 5 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngKatherine Clark Incumbent 71% 182,100
     Write-in Other 1.2% 3,160
     Blank None 27.8% 71,226
Total Votes 256,486
Source: Massachusetts Secretary of State Official Results

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 To appear on the ballot in Massachusetts, prospective candidates must submit nomination papers for certification to the registrars of the cities or towns in which signatures were collected and to the Secretary of the Commonwealth. The local filing deadline must occur four weeks prior to the candidate's second filing deadline with the Secretary of the Commonwealth. In 2020, the local-level filing deadline was May 5 and the state-level filing deadline was June 2. Click here to learn more.
  2. ↑ United States Census Bureau, "Counties by Congressional Districts," accessed June 8, 2016
  3. ↑ 270towin.com, "Massachusetts," accessed June 29, 2017
  4. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013
  5. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017
  6. ↑ Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
  7. ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
  8. ↑ Fundraising by primary candidates can be found on the race's respective primary election page. Fundraising by general election candidates can be found on the race's general election page.
  9. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
  10. ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  11. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  12. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  13. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
  14. ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of State, "DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES FOR NOMINATION," accessed June 15, 2016
  15. ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of State, "REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES FOR NOMINATION," accessed June 15, 2016


Massachusetts' current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Edward Markey (D)
Elizabeth Warren (D)
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
Democratic Party (11)


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