By Ballotpedia's Congressional team
MADISON, Wisconsin: Massachusetts had nine U.S. House seats on the ballot in 2012. Eight total incumbents sought re-election on November 6, 2012.
Massachusetts' 6th Congressional District was the closest race in the general election. Incumbent John Tierney (D) narrowly defeated Richard Tisei (R) by a little over 1 percentage point. This close race largely stemmed from legal problems Tierney's wife had in 2010, in addition to Tisei's socially liberal and fiscally conservative views. The only open seat in Massachusetts, the 4th Congressional District, saw Joseph Kennedy III (D) win retiring Democratic congressman Barney Frank's seat by over 24 percentage points.
Here are the candidates who won election from Massachusetts.
| Members of the U.S. House from Massachusetts -- Partisan Breakdown
|
| Party
|
As of November 2012
|
After the 2012 Election
|
|
|
Democratic Party
|
10
|
9
|
|
|
Republican Party
|
0
|
0
|
| Total
|
10
|
9
|
Margin of victory for winners
There were a total of 9 seats up for election in 2012 in Massachusetts. The following table shows the margin of victory for each district winner, which is calculated by examining the percentage difference between the top-two vote getters. If the race was uncontested, the margin of victory is listed as 100%.
| District | Winner | Margin of Victory | Total Vote | Top Opponent |
|---|
| U.S. House, Massachusetts District 1 General Election
|  Richard Neal | 76.6% | 336,555 | All Others |
| U.S. House, Massachusetts District 2 General Election
| Jim McGovern | 74.5% | 342,736 | All Others |
| U.S. House, Massachusetts District 3 General Election
| Niki Tsongas | 30.7% | 335,111 | Jon Golnik |
| U.S. House, Massachusetts District 4 General Election
| Joseph Kennedy III | 24.5% | 373,114 | Sean Bielat |
| U.S. House, Massachusetts District 5 General Election
| Ed Markey | 47.9% | 364,201 | Tom Tierney |
| U.S. House, Massachusetts District 6 General Election
| John Tierney | 1.1% | 389,852 | Richard Tisei |
| U.S. House, Massachusetts District 7 General Election
| Michael Capuano | 59.5% | 285,134 | Karla Romero |
| U.S. House, Massachusetts District 8 General Election
| Stephen Lynch | 48.9% | 371,694 | Joe Selvaggi |
| U.S. House, Massachusetts District 9 General Election
| William Keating | 24.9% | 385,799 | Christopher Sheldon |
National picture
Both chambers of the United States Congress remain split after the November 6, 2012 election. Democrats increased their majority in the U.S. Senate while cutting into the Republicans majority in the U.S. House.
Of the 435 candidates who won election to the U.S. House, 85 of them were challengers, which represents 19.5 percent of U.S. House members. Of those 85, 50 are Democratic and 35 are Republican. A total of 27 incumbents were defeated -- 10 Democratic and 17 Republican.
| 2012 United States House General Election Results
|
| Party
|
Total Winners
|
Incumbent Winners
|
Defeated Incumbents
|
Incumbent Re-Election Rate**
|
Non-Incumbent Winners
|
| Democratic
|
201
|
151
|
10
|
93.8%
|
50
|
| Republican
|
234
|
198
|
17
|
92.1%
|
35
|
| TOTALS
|
435
|
349
|
27
|
92.8%
|
85
|
| **Note: The incumbent re-election rate is calculated by dividing the total incumbents winners by the total incumbents who appeared on the general election ballot.
|
See also
Jon Golnik
David Rosa
Daniel Fishman
