| State: | Massachusetts |
| District Number: | 5 |
| Image Caption: | Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023 |
| Representative: | Katherine Clark |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Residence: | Revere |
| Population: | 776,294 |
| Population Year: | 2022 |
| Median Income: | $115,167[1] |
| Percent White: | 64.6 |
| Percent Hispanic: | 10.5 |
| Percent Black: | 5.0 |
| Percent Asian: | 12.8 |
| Percent More Than One Race: | 5.1 |
| Percent Other Race: | 2.0 |
| Cpvi: | D+23[2] |
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.[3] 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.[4] 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%.
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.
As of 2024, municipalities of the 5th District are:[5]
From 2013 through 2023, the municipalities of the 5th District were:[6]
| Year | Office | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | President | Gore 57 - 36% | |
| 2004 | President | Kerry 57 - 41% | |
| 2008 | President | Obama 66 - 32% | |
| 2012 | President | Obama 65 - 33% | |
| 2016 | President | Clinton 69 - 25% | |
| 2020 | President | Biden 75 - 23% |
| Member | Party | Years ↑ | Cong ress | Electoral history | District location | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District created March 4, 1789 | ||||||||
| align=left | George Partridge | Pro-Administration | nowrap | March 4, 1789 – August 14, 1790 | Elected in 1788. Resigned. | 1789–1793 Barnstable County and Plymouth County | ||
| Vacant | nowrap | August 15, 1790 – March 3, 1791 | ||||||
| align=left | Shearjashub Bourne | Pro-Administration | nowrap | March 4, 1791 – March 3, 1793 | Elected in 1790. Redistricted to the . | |||
| District inactive | nowrap | March 4, 1793 – March 3, 1795 | ||||||
| align=left | Nathaniel Freeman Jr. | Democratic-Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1795 – March 3, 1799 | Elected in 1794. Re-elected in 1796. Retired. | 1795–1803 "1st Southern district" | ||
| align=left | Lemuel Williams | Federalist | nowrap | March 4, 1799 – March 3, 1803 | Elected in 1799. Re-elected in 1800. Redistricted to the . | |||
| align=left | Thomas Dwight | Federalist | nowrap | March 4, 1803 – March 3, 1805 | Elected in 1802. Retired. | 1803–1823 "Hampshire South district" | ||
| align=left | William Ely | Federalist | nowrap | March 4, 1805 – March 3, 1815 | Elected in 1804. Re-elected in 1806. Re-elected in 1808. Re-elected in 1810. Re-elected in 1812. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Elijah H. Mills | Federalist | nowrap | March 4, 1815 – March 3, 1819 | Elected in 1814. Re-elected in 1816. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | Samuel Lathrop | Federalist | nowrap | March 4, 1819 – March 3, 1823 | Elected in 1819 on the second ballot. Re-elected in 1820. Redistricted to the . | |||
| align=left | Jonas Sibley | Democratic-Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1825 | Elected in 1823 on the second ballot. Lost re-election. | 1823–1833 "Worcester South district" | ||
John Davis | Anti-Jacksonian | March 4, 1825 – January 14, 1834 | Elected in 1825. Re-elected in 1826. Re-elected in 1828. Re-elected in 1830. Re-elected in 1833. Resigned to become Governor of Massachusetts. | |||||
| 1833–1843 | ||||||||
| Vacant | nowrap | January 15, 1834 – February 16, 1834 | ||||||
Levi Lincoln Jr. | Anti-Jacksonian | nowrap | February 17, 1834 – March 3, 1837 | Elected to finish Davis's term. Re-elected later in 1834. Re-elected in 1836. Re-elected in 1838. Re-elected in 1840. Resigned to become Collector of the Port of Boston. | ||||
| nowrap | Whig | nowrap | March 4, 1837 – March 16, 1841 | |||||
| Vacant | nowrap | March 17, 1841 – May 2, 1841 | ||||||
Charles Hudson | Whig | May 3, 1841 – March 3, 1849 | Elected to finish Lincoln's term. Re-elected late in 1843. Re-elected in 1844. Re-elected in 1846. Lost re-election. | |||||
| 1843–1853 | ||||||||
| align=left | Charles Allen | Free Soil | nowrap | March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1853 | Elected late in 1849.[7] Re-elected late in 1851.[8] Retired. | |||
| align=left | William Appleton | Whig | nowrap | March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855 | Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1852. Lost re-election. | 1853–1863 | ||
Anson Burlingame | American | nowrap | March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1857 | Elected in 1854. Re-elected in 1856. Re-elected in 1858. Lost re-election. | ||||
| nowrap | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1861 | |||||
| align=left | William Appleton | Constitutional Unionist | nowrap | March 4, 1861 – September 27, 1861 | Elected in 1860. Resigned because of failing health. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | September 28, 1861 – December 1, 1861 | ||||||
| align=left | Samuel Hooper[9] | Republican | nowrap | December 2, 1861 – March 3, 1863 | Elected to finish Appleton's term. Redistricted to the . | |||
| align=left | John B. Alley | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1867 | Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1862. Re-elected in 1864. | 1863–1873 | ||
| align=left | Benjamin F. Butler[10] | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1867 – March 3, 1873 | Elected in 1866. Re-elected in 1868. Re-elected in 1870. Redistricted to the . | |||
| align=left | Daniel W. Gooch | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1875 | Elected in 1872. Lost re-election. | 1873–1883 | ||
Nathaniel P. Banks[11] | Independent | nowrap | March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1877 | Elected in 1874. Re-elected in 1876. Lost renomination. | ||||
| Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1879 | ||||||
| align=left | Selwyn Z. Bowman[12] | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1883 | Elected in 1878. Re-elected in 1880. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | Leopold Morse | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1885 | Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1882. Retired. | 1883–1893 | ||
| align=left | Edward D. Hayden | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1885 – March 3, 1889 | Elected in 1884. Re-elected in 1886. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Nathaniel P. Banks | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1891 | Elected in 1888. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Sherman Hoar | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1893 | Elected in 1890. Declined renomination. | |||
| align=left | Moses T. Stevens | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1895 | Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1892. | 1893–1903 | ||
| align=left | William S. Knox[13] | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1903 | Elected in 1894. Re-elected in 1896. Re-elected in 1898. Re-elected in 1900. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Butler Ames[14] | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1913 | Elected in 1902. Re-elected in 1904. Re-elected in 1906. Re-elected in 1908. Re-elected in 1910. Retired. | 1903–1913 | ||
| align=left | John Jacob Rogers | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1913 – March 28, 1925 | Elected in 1912. Re-elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1916. Re-elected in 1918. Re-elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1922. Re-elected in 1924. Died. | 1913–1933 | ||
| Vacant | nowrap | March 28, 1925 – June 30, 1925 | ||||||
Edith Nourse Rogers[15] | Republican | June 30, 1925 – September 10, 1960 | Elected to finish her husband's term. Re-elected in 1926. Re-elected in 1928. Re-elected in 1930. Re-elected in 1932. Re-elected in 1934. Re-elected in 1936. Re-elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1944. Re-elected in 1946. Re-elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Re-elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1958. Died. | |||||
| 1933–1943 | ||||||||
| 1943–1953 | ||||||||
| 1953–1963 | ||||||||
| Vacant | nowrap | September 10, 1960 – January 3, 1961 | ||||||
F. Bradford Morse[16] | Republican | January 3, 1961 – May 1, 1972 | Elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1962. Re-elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Resigned to become U.N. Under Secretary General for Political and General Assembly Affairs. | |||||
| 1963–1973 | ||||||||
| Vacant | nowrap | May 1, 1972 – January 3, 1973 | ||||||
| align=left | Paul W. Cronin | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1975 | Elected in 1972. Lost re-election. | 1973–1983 | ||
| align=left | Paul Tsongas | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1979 | Elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Retired to run for U.S. senator. | |||
James Shannon | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1983 | Elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Retired to run for U.S. senator. | ||||
| nowrap | January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1985 | 1983–1993 | ||||||
| align=left | Chester G. Atkins[17] | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1985 – January 3, 1993 | Re-elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Lost renomination. | |||
Marty Meehan | Democratic | January 3, 1993 – July 1, 2007 | Elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Re-elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Resigned to become Chancellor of University of Massachusetts Lowell. | 1993–2003 | ||||
| 2003–2013 | ||||||||
| Vacant | nowrap | July 1, 2007 – October 16, 2007 | ||||||
| align=left | Niki Tsongas | Democratic | nowrap | October 16, 2007 – January 3, 2013 | Elected to finish Meehan's term. Re-elected in 2008. Re-elected in 2010. Redistricted to the . | |||
| align=left | Ed Markey | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 2013 – July 15, 2013 | Redistricted from the and re-elected in 2012. Resigned when elected U.S. senator. | 2013–2023 | ||
| Vacant | nowrap | July 15, 2013 – December 10, 2013 | ||||||
Katherine Clark | Democratic | December 10, 2013 – present | Elected to finish Markey's term. Re-elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. Re-elected in 2022. | |||||
| 2023–present | ||||||||
| Member | Party | Years ↑ | Cong ress | Electoral history | District location | |||
