James Govatsos

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

James Govatsos

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

September 3, 2024

Education

High school

Canton High School

Bachelor's

Ohio University, 1972

Personal

Birthplace

Boston, Mass.

Religion

Catholic

Profession

Retired

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Personal Facebook

James Govatsos (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Massachusetts' 8th Congressional District. He lost in the Republican primary on September 3, 2024.

Govatsos completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

James Govatsos was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He earned a bachelor's degree from Ohio University in 1972.

Elections

2024

See also: Massachusetts' 8th Congressional District election, 2024

Massachusetts' 8th Congressional District election, 2024 (September 3 Democratic primary)

Massachusetts' 8th Congressional District election, 2024 (September 3 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Massachusetts District 8

Incumbent Stephen Lynch defeated Robert Burke in the general election for U.S. House Massachusetts District 8 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Stephen Lynch (D)	70.4	265,432
		Robert Burke (R)	29.4	110,638
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	760

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 376,830
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Massachusetts District 8

Incumbent Stephen Lynch advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Massachusetts District 8 on September 3, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Stephen Lynch	98.7	64,761
		Other/Write-in votes	1.3	861

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 65,622
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Massachusetts District 8

Robert Burke defeated James Govatsos and Daniel Kelly in the Republican primary for U.S. House Massachusetts District 8 on September 3, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Robert Burke	46.1	10,335
		James Govatsos	27.7	6,216
	Submit photo	Daniel Kelly	25.7	5,761
		Other/Write-in votes	0.6	127

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 22,439
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Matthew Lynch (R)

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Govatsos in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

James Govatsos completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Govatsos' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am from Walpole and qualified to run for the U.S. Congress in the 8th District by obtaining 2,885 certified signatures from within the 20 plus towns. That amount surpassed the required 2,000 and was the most gathered by all persons running for Congress in the 8th District including the incumbent. My hometown was Canton, MA. I earned a Bachelor of Science in Business (BSB) at Ohio University, worked a career with various communications companies and retired from Verizon business office. Now, I currently work parttime at an Assisted Living Facility, serve on the Board of Directors for a non-profit organization, and reside in Walpole with my wife, Grace.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Secure the U.S. border
• Don't spend what you don't have
• Term limits

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

As person who has lived their life as a fiscally responsible person I consider over taxing and irresponsible spending to be the most important public policies. These are the core issues that concern me and effect many of the other public policies such as social security, jobs, and healthcare.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Laura Hillenbrand’s novel Seabiscuit I found to be inspirational about resilience and teamwork. It tells the 1937 true story of 3 unlikely characters; an owner, a jockey, and a trainer all of whom had reached the lowest points of their career but it took 1 horse with the heart of a champion to beat the Triple Crown winner, War Admiral and renewed the idea that anyone and everyone can be a winner.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

Some unique qualities that the House of Representatives possesses that others do not include the responsibility to enact or change laws, appropriate spending, the power to impeach, and conduct investigations to oversee the executive branch.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

A case could be made that some experience in government or politics can be useful however, I feel just a strongly that a person who has worked hard, paid their taxes, volunteered in their community, been a law-abiding citizen, and most importantly believes in common sense can represent the constituents just as well.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

1) Getting control over our broken immigration policy.

2) The National Debt is not sustainable and needs to be addressed immediately.
3) We need to continue to make sure the United States has a growing and sound economy to compete with Global powers like China.

4) Our international engagements must always have the vital interests and security of the United States first.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Yes, because I believe that a representative should be close to the constituents and responsive to their needs.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I am a firm believer in term limits. An elected member of the U.S. House of Representatives should serve no more than 4 terms or 8 years. A U.S. Senator, the length should be no more than two elected terms or 12 years. I do not believe someone should make a career from being an elected politician. The Founding Fathers had it correct, serve our great country for a few years then go back to your family and community and contribute there.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Yes, there are two.

 Currently serving Rep. Jim Jordan (OH). He led the fight against tax hikes. He believes that cutting taxes and letting families keep more of what they earn helps to build strong communities and a vibrant economy. In 2009, Rep Jordan introduced the only balanced budget as an alternative to President Obama's budget.

 Founding father James Madison. He was a visionary, a statesman and diplomat. Rep Madison was instrumental in drafting the U.S. Constitution. He also opposed the economic program and the accompanying centralization of power.

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

I work at a large retirement community with an opportunity to meet many of the residents and the employees. The majority of the workers are from different countries. I met one particular woman from an African Nation and a proud registered Democrat. She learned I am running for Congress as a Republican. She asked me how is it possible for the Democrats to allow open borders and give everything for free? She went on to share her experience of waiting many years, pay thousands of dollars and receiving no free benefits as she legally became a lawful American citizen. She expressed she will never again vote for a Democrat again because she feels betrayed.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

I believe that compromise should always be the top priority for Congress with regards to making new or changing existing laws. The same goes for spending or appropriations needed to have the government function and run. There are times when compromise fails, and one side pushes through an item or resolution which is why our government has additional checks and balances.

The Constitution says that all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House. What role would this power play in your priorities if elected?

Raising revenue must originate in the House and the responsibilities are enormous. The raising of taxes would always be my last resort. Any new programs must be paid for, and budgets must be balanced. There are billions of dollars the government can’t always keep track of and not always properly spent. I would look first at any waste, fraud, or abuse before raising taxes on businesses or taxpayers.

How should the U.S. House use its investigative powers?

I believe the U S House should continue with its current authority to hold hearings, gather testimony, and issue subpoenas when necessary to conduct investigative probes. Using common sense and constitutional limitations to gather facts can be useful in pursuit of valid legislative purposes and to protect individual rights. This tool has always been a sound check on the Executive branch.

What committees interest you?

Most Representatives serve on one to three committees I am interested in:

 The Rules Committee

 The House Appropriations Committee

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign website

Govatsos’ campaign website stated the following:

“	What Jim Supports Securing all U.S. borders Legal immigration application-controlled process Ending the entry of Fentanyl and other deadly drugs into the USA by imposing sanctions & trade restrictions A resolution for the Ukraine-Russia conflict A balanced budget by not over spending Lowering the National debt of $34 Trillion and growing daily Term limits Police-Fire & First Responders Second Amendment Law-abiding gun owners Equal justice under the law An education system that reinforces teachers being in control Unions - Fair collective bargaining DOES NOT SUPPORT: The hiring of 87,000 new IRS agents New spending without the funds available Boys playing in girls’ sports	”
—James Govatsos’ campaign website (2024)

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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James Govatsos campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	U.S. House Massachusetts District 8	Lost primary	$3,412	$5,016
Grand total			$3,412	$5,016
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

See also

2024 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

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Newsletters

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External links

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Candidate

U.S. House Massachusetts District 8

Website

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Footnotes

[show]

Massachusetts' current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Edward Markey (D)

Elizabeth Warren (D)

Representatives

District 1

Richard Neal (D)

District 2

Jim McGovern (D)

District 3

Lori Trahan (D)

District 4

Jake Auchincloss (D)

District 5

Katherine Clark (D)

District 6

Seth Moulton (D)

District 7

Ayanna Pressley (D)

District 8

Stephen Lynch (D)

District 9

Bill Keating (D)

Democratic Party (11)