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 ...

held a special election to fill a vacancy in

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 ...

on October 16, 2007. Democrat Niki Tsongas won election to Congress, defeating Republican Jim Ogonowski in an election that was closer than expected.5th District Elects Tsongas
Associated Press Marty Meehan had been the district's Representative to Congress since 1993. He announced his resignation in May 2007 (effective July 1), allowing him to become the next Chancellor of the

University of Massachusetts Lowell The University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell and UML) is a Public university, public research university in Lowell, Massachusetts, with a satellite campus in Haverhill, Massachusetts. It is the northernmost member of the University of M ...

. Meehan had last won re-election in 2006, when he ran unopposed. The district was considered to be strongly Democratic, as it voted 58% for the Democratic candidate (

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

) in the most recent presidential election. In addition, Massachusetts had not elected a Republican to Congress since

Peter Blute Peter Ignatius Blute (born January 28, 1956) is an American former politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the United States House of Representatives. He served two terms, between January 3, 1993, and Ja ...

and Peter Torkildsen were last elected to office in 1994 (both were defeated in 1996). No Republican had held the 5th congressional district's seat since Paul W. Cronin departed from office in 1975 after his defeat by Democrat

Paul Tsongas Paul Efthemios Tsongas ( ; February 14, 1941 – January 18, 1997) was an American politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1979 until 1985 and in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 until 1 ...

in 1974. A

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

was held on September 4, 2007, to determine each political party's nominee for the general election. Niki Tsongas won the Democratic nomination and Jim Ogonowski won the Republican nomination. Tsongas won the general election, held on October 16, 2007, with 51% of the vote; Ogonowski received 45%.

Candidates

''All candidates for the election are listed alphabetically first by party, then by name. Bold is primary winners and general election candidates.''

Constitution

* Kevin Thompson – State Constitution Party Secretary from Brockton

Democratic

* Eileen Donoghue – City Councilor and former Lowell Mayor * Jamie Eldridge – State Representative from Acton * Barry Finegold – State Representative from

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andov ...

* Jim Miceli – State Representative from Wilmington * Niki Tsongas – Dean at Middlesex Community College from Lowell, and widow of Paul Tsongas

Independent

* Kurt Hayes – Businessman from Boxborough * Patrick O. Murphy – Brick and stonemason from Lowell

Republican

* Jim Ogonowski – Former Air Force Lt. Colonel from Dracut, and brother of

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

*Thomas Tierney – Self-Employed Independent Consulting

Actuary An actuary is a professional with advanced mathematical skills who deals with the measurement and management of risk and uncertainty. These risks can affect both sides of the balance sheet and require investment management, asset management, ...

from Framingham

Withdrawn / not running

Democratic

* James DiPaola – Middlesex County Sheriff * David O'Brien –

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

member from Concord

Republican

* Fred Smerlas – Former NFL

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

* Michael J. Sullivan – Mayor of Lawrencebostonherald.com
/ref>

Polling

Democratic primary

Republican primary

General Election

Results

Bold indicates winner of nomination. Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20120207164837/http://www.thebostonchannel.com/politics/14003157/detail.html

General Election

Democratic primary

Republican primary

References

External links

Candidate Web Sites

Candidates

Constitution

Democratic

Independent

Republican

Withdrawn / not running

Democratic

Republican

Polling

Democratic primary

Republican primary

General Election

Results

General Election

Democratic primary

Republican primary

See also

References

External links

Candidate Web Sites

Democratic

Republican

Constitution

Independent