2007 Massachusetts's 5th congressional district special election
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Massachusetts held a special election to fill a vacancy in Massachusetts's 5th congressional district on October 16, 2007.[1] Democrat Niki Tsongas won election to Congress, defeating Republican Jim Ogonowski in an election that was closer than expected.[2]
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October 16, 2007
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Massachusetts's 5th congressional district | |||||||||||||||||
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 Municipality results Tsongas: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Ogonowski: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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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.[1] 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) in the most recent presidential election. In addition, Massachusetts had not elected a Republican to Congress since Peter Blute 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 in 1974.
A primary election was held on September 4, 2007, to determine each political party's nominee for the general election.[1] 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
- 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[3]
Republican
- Jim Ogonowski – Former Air Force Lt. Colonel from Dracut, and brother of John, the Captain of American Airlines Flight 11, which was hijacked by al-Qaeda terrorists and flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center as part of the September 11 attacks. He is believed to have been killed by the hijackers prior to the crash.
- Thomas Tierney – Self-Employed Independent Consulting Actuary from Framingham
Withdrawn or not running
Democratic
- James DiPaola – Middlesex County Sheriff[4]
- David O'Brien – Democratic National Committee member from Concord[5]
Republican
- Fred Smerlas – Former NFL defensive lineman[6]
- Michael J. Sullivan – Mayor of Lawrence[7]
Polling
Democratic primary
| Source | Date | Donoghue (D) | Eldridge (D) | Finegold (D) | Miceli (D) | Tsongas (D) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Survey USA[8] | Aug 27–29, 2007 | 29% | 15% | 9% | 3% | 40% | ||
| Survey USA[9] | Aug 11–13, 2007 | 16% | 13% | 14% | 4% | 38% | ||
| Kiley & Company[10] | Aug 8–9, 2007 | 18% | 16% | 13% | 4% | 34% | ||
| JEF Associates[11] | Aug 6–7, 2007 | 22% | 7% | 8% | 4% | 28% | ||
| Kiley & Company[12] | July 15, 2007 | 13% | 12% | 10% | 4% | 36% | ||
| JEF Associates[13] | Jun 28–30, 2007 | 17% | 10% | 13% | 4% | 26% | ||
| Kiley & Company[12] | May 22, 2007 | 9% | 10% | 11% | 3% | 38% | ||
| Garin-Hart-Yang Research[14] | May 3–4, 2007 | 13% | 5% | 10% | 4% | 36% | DiPaola (D) | O'Brien (D) |
| Kiley & Company[15] | Mar 23–24, 2007 | 9% | 9% | 8% | 3% | 35% | 6% | 3% |
Republican primary
| Source | Date | Ogonowski (R) | Tierney (R) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Survey USA[8] | Aug 27–29, 2007 | 72% | 12% |
General Election
| Source | Date | Ogonowski (R) | Tsongas (D) | Thompson (C) | Hayes (I) | Murphy (I) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Survey USA[16] | Oct 8–10, 2007 | 42% | 51% | 0% | 2% | 4% |
| RCCC Poll[17] | Oct 1–5, 2007 | 39% | 44% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Survey USA[18] | Sep 7–9, 2007 | 41% | 51% | 2% | 2% | 1% |
Results
Bold indicates winner of nomination. Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20120207164837/http://www.thebostonchannel.com/politics/14003157/detail.html
General Election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Niki Tsongas | 54,363 | 51.32 | −48.68 | |
| Republican | Jim Ogonowski | 47,770 | 45.10 | +45.10 | |
| Independent | Patrick O. Murphy | 2,170 | 2.05 | +2.05 | |
| Independent | Kurt Hayes | 1,125 | 1.06 | +1.06 | |
| Constitution | Kevin Thompson | 494 | 0.47 | 0.47 | |
| Majority | 6,593 | 6% | |||
| Turnout | 105,922 | ||||
| Democratic hold | Swing | 46.89% D to R | |||
Democratic primary
| Candidates | Democratic Primary Election, Sep 4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Percent |
| Niki Tsongas | Democratic | 19,811 | 35.69% |
| Eileen Donoghue | Democratic | 17,373 | 31.29% |
| Jamie Eldridge | Democratic | 8,041 | 14.48% |
| Barry Finegold | Democratic | 6,996 | 12.60% |
| Jim Miceli | Democratic | 3,296 | 5.94% |
Republican primary
| Candidates | Republican Primary Election, Sep 4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Percent |
| Jim Ogonowski | Republican | 12,014 | 89.04% |
| Tom Tierney | Republican | 1,479 | 10.96% |