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Massachusetts' 1st Congressional District election, 2020

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Massachusetts' 1st Congressional District
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: May 5, 2020 (local) & June 2, 2020 (state)[1]
Primary: September 1, 2020
General: November 3, 2020
Pre-election incumbent:
Richard Neal (Democrat)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voting in Massachusetts
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic
Inside Elections: Solid Democratic
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020
See also
Massachusetts' 1st Congressional District
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th
Massachusetts elections, 2020
U.S. Congress elections, 2020
U.S. Senate elections, 2020
U.S. House elections, 2020

All U.S. congressional districts, including the 1st Congressional District of Massachusetts, held elections in 2020.

Incumbent Richard Neal won the Democratic primary.

Incumbent Richard Neal won election in the general election for U.S. House Massachusetts District 1.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
May 5, 2020 (local) & June 2, 2020 (state)[1]
September 1, 2020
November 3, 2020


Heading into the election the incumbent was Democrat Richard Neal, who was first elected in 1988.

Massachusetts' 1st Congressional District is located in the western portion of the state and includes all of Berkshire County and parts of Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, and Worcester counties.[2]

Democratic Party For more information about the Democratic primary, click here.
Republican Party For more information about the Republican primary, click here.

Post-election analysis

The table below compares the vote totals in the 2020 presidential election and 2020 U.S. House election for this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

Presidential and congressional election results, Massachusetts' 1st Congressional District, 2020
Race Presidential U.S. House
Democratic candidate Democratic Party 61.1 96.5
Republican candidate Republican Party 36.9 0
Difference 24.2 96.5

Election procedure changes in 2020

See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.

Massachusetts modified its absentee/mail-in procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:

  • Absentee/mail-in voting: Absentee/mail-in voting eligibility was extended to all qualified voters in the general election.

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.

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Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House Massachusetts District 1

Incumbent Richard Neal defeated Alex Morse and Frederick Mayock in the general election for U.S. House Massachusetts District 1 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Richard Neal
Richard Neal (D)
 
96.5
 
275,376
Image of Alex Morse
Alex Morse (D) (Write-in) Candidate Connection
 
0.4
 
1,274
Image of Frederick Mayock
Frederick Mayock (Independent) (Write-in)
 
0.0
 
0
 Other/Write-in votes
 
3.0
 
8,682

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 285,332
Candidate Connection = 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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Massachusetts District 1

Incumbent Richard Neal defeated Alex Morse in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Massachusetts District 1 on September 1, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Richard Neal
Richard Neal
 
58.6
 
84,092
Image of Alex Morse
Alex Morse Candidate Connection
 
41.2
 
59,110
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
191

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 143,393
Candidate Connection = 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

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates


Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

There are no Pivot Counties in Massachusetts. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

In the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton (D) won Massachusetts with 60 percent of the vote. Donald Trump (R) received 32.8 percent. In presidential elections between 1789 and 2016, Massachusetts voted Republican 36.2 percent of the time and Democratic 34.4 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, Massachusetts voted Democratic all five times.[3]

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Massachusetts. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[4][5]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 135 out of 160 state House districts in Massachusetts with an average margin of victory of 31.6 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 141 out of 160 state House districts in Massachusetts with an average margin of victory of 34.1 points. Clinton won 21 districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 25 out of 160 state House districts in Massachusetts with an average margin of victory of 4.1 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 19 out of 160 state House districts in Massachusetts with an average margin of victory of 5.5 points. Trump won five districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.


District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+12, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 12 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Massachusetts' 1st Congressional District the 109th most Democratic nationally.[6]

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.22. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.22 points toward that party.[7]

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[8] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[9] The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Richard Neal Democratic Party $5,033,892 $5,957,631 $2,384,564 As of December 31, 2020
Alex Morse Democratic Party $2,213,934 $2,129,500 $84,434 As of December 31, 2020
Frederick Mayock Independent $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.


Race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[10]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[11][12][13]

Race ratings: Massachusetts' 1st Congressional District election, 2020
Race trackerRace ratings
November 3, 2020October 27, 2020October 20, 2020October 13, 2020
The Cook Political ReportSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season.

Candidate ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for 1st Congressional District candidates in Massachusetts in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Massachusetts, click here.

Filing requirements, 2020
State Office Party Signatures required Signature formula Filing fee Filing fee formula Filing deadline Source
Massachusetts 1st Congressional District All parties 2,000 Fixed number N/A N/A 6/2/2020 Source
Massachusetts 1st Congressional District Unaffiliated 2,000 Fixed number N/A N/A 8/25/2020 Source

District election history

2018

See also: Massachusetts' 1st Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Massachusetts District 1

Incumbent Richard Neal won election in the general election for U.S. House Massachusetts District 1 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Richard Neal
Richard Neal (D)
 
97.6
 
211,790
 Other/Write-in votes
 
2.4
 
5,110

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 216,900
Candidate Connection = 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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Massachusetts District 1

Incumbent Richard Neal defeated Tahirah Amatul-Wadud in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Massachusetts District 1 on September 4, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Richard Neal
Richard Neal
 
70.7
 
49,696
Image of Tahirah Amatul-Wadud
Tahirah Amatul-Wadud
 
29.3
 
20,565

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 70,261
Candidate Connection = 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.

2016

See also: Massachusetts' 1st Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent Richard Neal (D) defeated Thomas Simmons (L) and Frederick Mayock (I) in the general election on November 8, 2016. No candidate faced a primary opponent in September.[14][15]

U.S. House, Massachusetts District 1 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngRichard Neal Incumbent 73.3% 235,803
     Independent Frederick Mayock 17.9% 57,504
     Libertarian Thomas Simmons 8.6% 27,511
     N/A Write-in 0.2% 721
Total Votes 321,539
Source: Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth

2014

See also: Massachusetts' 1st Congressional District elections, 2014

The 1st Congressional District of Massachusetts held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Richard Neal (D) won an uncontested general election.

U.S. House, Massachusetts District 1 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngRichard Neal Incumbent 73.8% 167,612
     Write-in Other 1.5% 3,498
     Blank None 24.6% 55,965
Total Votes 227,075
Source: Massachusetts Secretary of State Official Results

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 To appear on the ballot in Massachusetts, prospective candidates must submit nomination papers for certification to the registrars of the cities or towns in which signatures were collected and to the Secretary of the Commonwealth. The local filing deadline must occur four weeks prior to the candidate's second filing deadline with the Secretary of the Commonwealth. In 2020, the local-level filing deadline was May 5 and the state-level filing deadline was June 2. Click here to learn more.
  2. ↑ United States Census Bureau, "Counties by Congressional Districts," accessed June 8, 2016
  3. ↑ 270towin.com, "Massachusetts," accessed June 29, 2017
  4. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013
  5. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017
  6. ↑ Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
  7. ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
  8. ↑ Fundraising by primary candidates can be found on the race's respective primary election page. Fundraising by general election candidates can be found on the race's general election page.
  9. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
  10. ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  11. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  12. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  13. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
  14. ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of State, "DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES FOR NOMINATION," accessed June 15, 2016
  15. ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of State, "REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES FOR NOMINATION," accessed June 15, 2016


Massachusetts' current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Edward Markey (D)
Elizabeth Warren (D)
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
Democratic Party (11)


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