2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts

2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts
All 10 Massachusetts seats in the United States House of Representatives
	Democratic 60–70% 70–80% 90>%

Last updated August 05, 2025

The 2008 congressional elections in Massachusetts were held on November 4, 2008, to determine who will represent the U.S. state of Massachusetts in the United States House of Representatives. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; whoever is elected will serve in the 111th Congress from January 4, 2009, until January 3, 2011. The election coincides with the 2008 U.S. presidential election.

Overview

United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts, 2008^[1]
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats	+/–
	Democratic	2,245,778	86.21%	10	+1.36%
	Republican	318,461	12.22%	0	+1.90%
	Independents	40,875	1.57%	0	-3.25%
Totals		2,605,114	100.00%	10	—

District 1

Massachusetts's 1st congressional district covers roughly the northwest half of the state. It has been represented by Democrat John Olver since June, 1991.

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report ^[2]	Safe D	November 6, 2008
Rothenberg ^[3]	Safe D	November 2, 2008
Sabato's Crystal Ball ^[4]	Safe D	November 6, 2008
Real Clear Politics ^[5]	Safe D	November 7, 2008
CQ Politics ^[6]	Safe D	November 6, 2008

Massachusetts's 1st congressional district election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Olver (inc.)	215,696	72.85
	Republican	Nathan A. Bech	80,067	27.04
	Write-ins		336	0.11
Total votes			296,099	100.00
	Democratic hold

District 2

Massachusetts's 2nd congressional district lies in the south-central part of the state. It has been represented by Democrat Richard Neal since 1989.

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report ^[2]	Safe D	November 6, 2008
Rothenberg ^[3]	Safe D	November 2, 2008
Sabato's Crystal Ball ^[4]	Safe D	November 6, 2008
Real Clear Politics ^[5]	Safe D	November 7, 2008
CQ Politics ^[6]	Safe D	November 6, 2008

Massachusetts's 2nd congressional district election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard Neal (inc.)	234,369	98.47
	Write-ins		3,631	1.53
Total votes			238,000	100.00
	Democratic hold

District 3

Massachusetts's 3rd congressional district lies in the central and southeastern part of the state. It has been represented by Democrat Jim McGovern since 1997.

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report ^[2]	Safe D	November 6, 2008
Rothenberg ^[3]	Safe D	November 2, 2008
Sabato's Crystal Ball ^[4]	Safe D	November 6, 2008
Real Clear Politics ^[5]	Safe D	November 7, 2008
CQ Politics ^[6]	Safe D	November 6, 2008

Massachusetts's 3rd congressional district election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim McGovern (inc.)	227,619	98.49
	Write-ins		3,488	1.51
Total votes			231,107	100.00
	Democratic hold

District 4

Massachusetts's 4th congressional district lies in the southern part of the state, including the South Coast region. It has been represented by Democrat Barney Frank since 1981.

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report ^[2]	Safe D	November 6, 2008
Rothenberg ^[3]	Safe D	November 2, 2008
Sabato's Crystal Ball ^[4]	Safe D	November 6, 2008
Real Clear Politics ^[5]	Safe D	November 7, 2008
CQ Politics ^[6]	Safe D	November 6, 2008

Massachusetts's 4th congressional district election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Barney Frank (inc.)	203,032	67.95
	Republican	Earl Henry Sholley	75,571	25.29
	Independent	Susan Allen	19,848	6.64
	Write-ins		337	0.11
Total votes			298,788	100.00
	Democratic hold

District 5

Massachusetts's 5th congressional district lies in the north-east part of the state. It has been represented by Democrat Niki Tsongas since October, 2007.

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report ^[2]	Safe D	November 6, 2008
Rothenberg ^[3]	Safe D	November 2, 2008
Sabato's Crystal Ball ^[4]	Safe D	November 6, 2008
Real Clear Politics ^[5]	Safe D	November 7, 2008
CQ Politics ^[6]	Safe D	November 6, 2008

Massachusetts's 5th congressional district election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Niki Tsongas (inc.)	225,947	98.71
	Write-ins		2,960	1.29
Total votes			228,907	100.00
	Democratic hold

District 6

Massachusetts's 6th congressional district covers the north-east corner of the state. It has been represented by Democrat John Tierney since 1997.

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report ^[2]	Safe D	November 6, 2008
Rothenberg ^[3]	Safe D	November 2, 2008
Sabato's Crystal Ball ^[4]	Safe D	November 6, 2008
Real Clear Politics ^[5]	Safe D	November 7, 2008
CQ Politics ^[6]	Safe D	November 6, 2008

Massachusetts's 6th congressional district election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Tierney (inc.)	226,216	70.40
	Republican	Richard A. Baker	94,845	29.52
	Write-ins		251	0.08
Total votes			321,312	100.00
	Democratic hold

District 7

Massachusetts's 7th congressional district lies in the eastern part of the state, including some Boston suburbs. It has been represented by Democrat Edward J. Markey since 1976.

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report ^[2]	Safe D	November 6, 2008
Rothenberg ^[3]	Safe D	November 2, 2008
Sabato's Crystal Ball ^[4]	Safe D	November 6, 2008
Real Clear Politics ^[5]	Safe D	November 7, 2008
CQ Politics ^[6]	Safe D	November 6, 2008

Massachusetts's 7th congressional district election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ed Markey (inc.)	212,304	75.64
	Republican	John Cunningham	67,978	24.22
	Write-ins		400	0.14
Total votes			280,682	100.00
	Democratic hold

District 8

Massachusetts's 8th congressional district lies in the eastern part of the state, including part of Boston and the immediately adjacent cities of Cambridge, Somerville, and Chelsea. It has been represented by Democrat Mike Capuano since 1999.

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report ^[2]	Safe D	November 6, 2008
Rothenberg ^[3]	Safe D	November 2, 2008
Sabato's Crystal Ball ^[4]	Safe D	November 6, 2008
Real Clear Politics ^[5]	Safe D	November 7, 2008
CQ Politics ^[6]	Safe D	November 6, 2008

Massachusetts's 8th congressional district election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mike Capuano (inc.)	185,530	98.55
	Write-ins		2,722	1.45
Total votes			188,252	100.00
	Democratic hold

District 9

Massachusetts's 9th congressional district lies in the eastern part of the state, including part of Boston and some of its southern suburbs. It has been represented by Democrat Stephen Lynch since October 2001.

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report ^[2]	Safe D	November 6, 2008
Rothenberg ^[3]	Safe D	November 2, 2008
Sabato's Crystal Ball ^[4]	Safe D	November 6, 2008
Real Clear Politics ^[5]	Safe D	November 7, 2008
CQ Politics ^[6]	Safe D	November 6, 2008

Massachusetts's 9th congressional district election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Stephen Lynch (inc.)	242,166	98.72
	Write-ins		3,128	1.28
Total votes			245,294	100.00
	Democratic hold

District 10

Massachusetts's 10th congressional district covers the south-east part of the state, including parts of the South Shore and all of Cape Cod and The Islands. It has been represented by Democrat Bill Delahunt since 1997.

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report ^[2]	Safe D	November 6, 2008
Rothenberg ^[3]	Safe D	November 2, 2008
Sabato's Crystal Ball ^[4]	Safe D	November 6, 2008
Real Clear Politics ^[5]	Safe D	November 7, 2008
CQ Politics ^[6]	Safe D	November 6, 2008

Massachusetts's 9th congressional district election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bill Delahunt (inc.)	272,899	98.64
	Write-ins		3,774	1.36
Total votes			276,673	100.00
	Democratic hold

References

↑ "2008 Election Statistics". clerk.house.gov.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "2008 Competitive House Race Chart". House: Race Ratings. The Cook Political Report. November 6, 2006. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "2008 House Ratings". House Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. November 2, 2006. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "2008 House". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 6, 2008. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Battle for the House of Representatives". realclearpolitics.com. Real Clear Politics. November 7, 2008. Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Race Ratings Chart: House". cqpolitics.com. Congressional Quarterly Inc. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2023.

External links

Elections from the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth
U.S. Congress candidates for Massachusetts at Project Vote Smart
Massachusetts U.S. House Races from 2008 Race Tracker
Campaign contributions for Massachusetts congressional races from OpenSecrets

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[1] "2008 Election Statistics". clerk.house.gov.

[Cook-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "2008 Competitive House Race Chart". House: Race Ratings. The Cook Political Report. November 6, 2006. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2023.

[Rothenberg-3] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "2008 House Ratings". House Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. November 2, 2006. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2023.

[Sabato-4] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "2008 House". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 6, 2008. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2023.

[RCP-5] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Battle for the House of Representatives". realclearpolitics.com. Real Clear Politics. November 7, 2008. Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved December 9, 2023.

[CQ_Politics-6] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Race Ratings Chart: House". cqpolitics.com. Congressional Quarterly Inc. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2023.

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2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts

Contents

Overview

District 1

Predictions

District 2

Predictions

District 3

Predictions

District 4

Predictions

District 5

Predictions

District 6

Predictions

District 7

Predictions

District 8

Predictions

District 9

Predictions

District 10

Predictions

References

External links