Clark wins seat in Massachusetts special election
December 11, 2013
Boston, Massachusetts: State Senator Katherine Clark (D) easily defeated challenger Frank Addivinola (R) in the special election yesterday for the 5th District seat left vacant by Ed Markey's (D) successful campaign for the U.S. Senate earlier this year.[1][2] Clark won out over Addivinola 66 percent to 32 percent.[1] With the win, Clark became the fifth woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts.[3]
She also defeated two third party candidates — James Aulenti and James Hall.[4][5]
Clark beat out six challengers - Will Brownsberger, Peter Koutoujian, Martin Long, Paul John Maisano, Karen Spilka and Carl Sciortino - in a competitive primary to win the Democratic nomination.[6][7]
Clark far outraised Addivinola in campaign contributions.[8] According to reports, Clark raised $1.18 million during the special election cycle, including $323,000 in the reporting period from October 1, 2013, to November 20, 2013.[8]
Addivinola raised just $27,000 during the same reporting period and less than $40,000 during the entire election campaign, as well as a $61,000 loan to his campaign.[8] He spent almost no money campaigning – less than $10,000 – and reported having $96,000 in the bank at end of November.[8]
“Tonight the campaign ends and the work of governing begins,” Clark said following the election. “But our priorities, they’re going to remain the same. When I get to Congress, I will work as hard as I can every single day to get the focus on our families, so that our hopes and dreams of equality, of prosperity, of making sure we have justice for every single family in this country, those are the issue we are going to put back on the table in this Congress.”
Clark announced several priorities she plans on begin work on once she is sworn in: protecting Social Security and Medicare benefits, ensuring pay equity for women, addressing climate change, increasing access to education and passing additional gun control measures.[3]
“We all know Congress is broken,” Clark said. “But what you’ve shown in this campaign that we are not going to sit on the sidelines, we are not going to accept the gridlock as the new norm. We know that we can do better, and we will.”[3]
Massachusetts' 5th Congressional District was considered a safe Democratic district. The state currently has an all Democratic congressional delegation.[9][10] Clark will face voters again in 2014 for a full term.[11]
| U.S. House, Massachusetts District 5 General Special Election, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Katherine Clark |
66% | 40,303 | |
| Republican | Frank Addivinola | 31.6% | 19,328 | |
| Independent | James Aulenti | 1.6% | 996 | |
| Justice, Peace, Security Party | James Hall | 0.7% | 452 | |
| Total Votes | 61,079 | |||
| Source: Results via Massachusetts Elections Division | ||||
See also
|
- Massachusetts' 5th Congressional District special election, 2013
- Massachusetts' 5th Congressional District
- Massachusetts elections, 2013
- United States House of Representatives
- Special elections to the 113th United States Congress (2013-2014)
External links
- Special Election Candidates from Massachusetts Elections Division
- Special Election Calendar
- Candidate's Guide for 2013 Special Election
- Current Massachusetts Special Elections
- Special Election Results
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Associated Press, "December 10 Election Results," accessed December 10, 2013
- ↑ Massachusetts Elections Division, "Candidate List," accessed December 8, 2013
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Masslive.com, "Democratic State Sen. Katherine Clark wins congressional seat in Massachusetts' 5th District," accessed December 10, 2013
- ↑ Massachusetts Elections Division, "Candidate List," accessed December 8, 2013
- ↑ WBUR, "Clark Cruises To Mass. 5th District Win," accessed December 10, 2013
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedresult - ↑ Politico, "Special Massachusetts House election set" accessed July 16, 2013
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Masslive.com. "State Sen. Katherine Clark has raised more than $1.1 million in U.S. House special election," accessed November 29, 2013
- ↑ Boston.com,, "Democratic candidates spar in 5th District debate," accessed December 13, 2013
- ↑ Roll Call, "Campaign Poll: Democrat Widens Lead in Massachusetts Special Primary | #MA05," accessed December 2, 2013
- ↑ Boston Herald, "Clark wins Dems Mass. 5th District primary," accessed December 15, 2013
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