Massachusetts's 5th congressional district

Massachusetts's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in eastern Massachusetts. 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 William Weld, Paul Celluci, and Mitt Romney. 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.

Current
As of 2024, municipalities of the 5th District are:

Middlesex County

 * Arlington
 * Bedford (part of)
 * Belmont
 * Cambridge (parts of)
 * Framingham
 * Lexington
 * Lincoln
 * Malden
 * Maynard
 * Medford
 * Melrose
 * Natick
 * Stoneham
 * Sudbury
 * Waltham
 * Watertown
 * Wayland
 * Weston
 * Winchester
 * Woburn

Other

 * Revere, Suffolk County
 * Wellesley (parts of), Norfolk County
 * Winthrop, Suffolk County

Past
From 2013 through 2023, the municipalities of the 5th District were:

Middlesex County

 * Arlington
 * Ashland
 * Belmont
 * Cambridge (parts of)
 * Framingham
 * Holliston
 * Lexington
 * Lincoln
 * Malden
 * Medford
 * Melrose
 * Natick
 * Sherborn
 * Stoneham
 * Sudbury (parts of)
 * Waltham
 * Watertown
 * Wayland
 * Weston
 * Winchester
 * Woburn

Other

 * Revere, Suffolk County
 * Southborough, Worcester County
 * Winthrop, Suffolk County

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