Massachusetts' 1st Congressional District election, 2020 (September 1 Democratic primary)

Elections in Massachusetts, 2020

• Primary date: Sept. 1
• Primary type: Semi-closed
• Registration deadline(s): Aug. 12
• Online registration: Yes
• Same-day registration: No

• Early voting starts: Pending
• Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): Sept. 1 (received)
• Voter ID: No ID
• Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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Date of Massachusetts presidential primary: March 3

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On the ballot: U.S. Senate • U.S. House • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • Special state legislative • Local judges • State ballot measures • Municipal • Recalls • 

2022 → ← 2018
Massachusetts' 1st Congressional District
Democratic primary Republican primary General election
Election details
Filing deadline: May 5, 2020 & June 2, 2020
Primary: September 1, 2020 General: November 3, 2020 Pre-election incumbent: Richard Neal (Democratic)
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 Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House racesArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House racesFlorida U.S. House racesGeorgia U.S. House racesHawaii U.S. House racesIdaho U.S. House racesIllinois U.S. House racesIndiana U.S. House racesIowa U.S. House racesKansas U.S. House racesKentucky U.S. House racesLouisiana U.S. House racesMaine U.S. House racesMaryland U.S. House racesMassachusetts U.S. House racesMichigan U.S. House racesMinnesota U.S. House racesMississippi U.S. House racesMissouri U.S. House racesMontana U.S. House racesNebraska U.S. House racesNevada U.S. House racesNew Hampshire U.S. House racesNew Jersey U.S. House racesNew Mexico U.S. House racesNew York U.S. House racesNorth Carolina U.S. House racesNorth Dakota U.S. House racesOhio U.S. House racesOklahoma U.S. House racesOregon U.S. House racesPennsylvania U.S. House racesRhode Island U.S. House racesSouth Carolina U.S. House racesSouth Dakota U.S. House racesTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House racesVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House racesSubmit

Incumbent Richard Neal defeated Alex Morse in the Democratic primary for Massachusetts' 1st Congressional District on September 1, 2020. With 63% of the precincts reporting, Neal received 60% of the vote to Morse's 40%. The Greenfield Recorder wrote, “The 1st Congressional race has drawn national attention as an example of another primary battle between incumbents in positions of leadership in the Democratic Party and candidates running to their left to try to unseat them.” As of August 2020, three independent outlets rated the district as Solid Demoratic.

At the time of the election, Neal had served as a U.S. representative since 1989 and as the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee since 2019. Prior to his time in office, Neal was a high school history teacher, city councilor, mayoral aide, and mayor of Springfield from 1984 to 1988. On his campaign website, he pointed to his experience in Congress passing legislation related to taxes, supporting the Affordable Care Act and Social Security, and addressing climate change. In an interview with MassLive, Neal said the most important issue facing his district that he would focus on if elected was addressing the coronavirus and its impact on the economy.

Heading into the primary, Morse had held the office of mayor of Holyoke since 2012, the year after he graduated from Brown University. Morse said that he would bring a new generation of leadership to the district and that his campaign priorities included expanding access to healthcare through the implementation of Medicare for all, addressing climate change through the Green New Deal, and making changes to criminal justice policy. In an interview with MassLive, when asked about the most important issue facing his district that he would focus on if elected, he responded that it was implementing policies he said would reduce the influence of money in politics.

As of August 12, Neal had raised $3,764,220 and spent $4,313,912, while Morse had raised $1,316,654 and spent $1,019,930. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), and the American Federation of Teachers endorsed Neal. Jamaal Bowman (D), Justice Democrats, and the Sunrise Movement endorsed Morse.

Alex Morse completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection Survey. Click here to see his responses.

Click on candidate names below to view their key messages:

Neal					Morse

This page focuses on Massachusetts' 1st Congressional District Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:

• Massachusetts' 1st Congressional District election, 2020 (September 1 Republican primary)
• Massachusetts' 1st Congressional District election, 2020

This election was a battleground race. Other 2020 battlegrounds included:

Florida's 15th Congressional District election, 2020 (August 18 Republican primary) North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2020 United States Senate election in Iowa, 2020

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 primary election process as follows:

• Voting procedures: Mail-in ballot applications to all voters in the state's September 1 primary election.

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

Candidates and election results

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Massachusetts District 1

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

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 143,393
= 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.

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles created in one of two ways. Either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey or Ballotpedia staff created a profile after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. Ballotpedia staff compiled profiles based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements.

Richard Neal

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: Yes

Political Office: 

• City Councillor in Springfield, MA (1978-1984)
• Mayor of Springfield, MA (1984-1988)
• U.S. Representative from Massachusetts' 2nd Congressional District (1989-2013)
  
• U.S. Representative from Massachusetts' 1st Congressional District (Assumed office: 2013)
  

Biography:  Neal earned a B.A. in political science from American International College and an M.A. in public administration from the University of Hartford. Prior to his political career, he was a high school history teacher. Neal served as the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee in the 116th Congress.

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Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

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On his campaign website Neal says, "As your Congressman, I’ve fought tirelessly for policies that make a difference for hard-working families and future generations: fairer taxes, affordable and accessible healthcare, taking on climate change, preserving Social Security, and more."

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"We face two enormous and closely intertwined challenges: ending the pandemic and reigniting the economy. This virus is costing us precious lives and livelihoods — we are mourning far too many beloved friends and relatives. And the job losses have unleashed an economic crisis in our district like we’ve never seen. We cannot pull out of this economic slump without defeating the coronavirus, and it will take effort and sacrifice from all of us," Neal said in an interview with MassLive.

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"I love this community. It’s my home, and we’re facing serious challenges and I can be of service. My most urgent goal is to give middle class families an economic leg up, and to boost more families into the middle class. I want to find a path out of this economic turbulence that rewards work with real opportunity, economic dignity, and security," Neal said in an interview with MassLive.

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Show sources

Sources: Richard Neal 2020 campaign website, "Richard Neal for Congress," accessed August 24, 2020. MassLive, "Massachusetts primary election: 1s Congressional District candidates Alex Morse and Richard Neal on the issues," August 14, 2020; Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, "Neal, Richard Edmund," accessed August 24, 2020. Richard Neal 2020 campaign website, "About," accessed August 24, 2020.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Massachusetts District 1 in 2020.

Alex Morse

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: 

Mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts (Assumed office: 2012)

Submitted Biography:  "Alex Morse is the current mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts and is a candidate for Congress in Massachusetts' First Congressional District. Alex was born in Holyoke on January 29, 1989. The youngest of three brothers, he grew up in a working class family that valued hard work, perseverance, and tolerance. His dad works at a local meat packaging plant, where he had worked his way up to the position of transportation manager. His mom ran a daycare out of their home. Alex was first elected Mayor at age 22, becoming the youngest and first openly gay mayor of Holyoke. As mayor, he closed the state's last coal power plant, implemented a needle exchange program to fight the opioid epidemic and he was the first mayor in the state to endorse recreational marijuana legalization. Alex declared Holyoke one of the first Sanctuary Cities in the country in 2014 and in 2018, Holyoke welcomed hundreds of Puerto Rican families displaced by Hurricane Maria. Alex believes in democracy and in the capacity of politics to make communities stronger, more prosperous, and more just. "

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Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

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Healthcare is a 21st century human right and that should be unconditionally guaranteed to every person in the United States.

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Climate change is an existential threat and the defining issue of our time. We need to policies like the Green New Deal, that match the scale of the crisis we face.

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For too long, our government has worked well for the rich and the well-connected, and not so well for everyday people. We bold systemic change that returns control of our government to the working-class.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Massachusetts District 1 in 2020.

Noteworthy primary endorsements

This section lists endorsements issued in this election. If you are aware of endorsements that should be included, please email us.

Democratic primary endorsements
Endorsement	Neal	Morse
Newspapers and editorials
The Berkshire Eagle	✔
Elected officials
Gov. Charlie Baker (R)	✔
Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.)	✔
Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kan.)	✔
Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.)	✔
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)	✔
Individuals
Jamaal Bowman		✔
Organizations
350 Action		✔
American Federation of Teachers	✔
BOLD PAC	✔
Brady United Against Gun Violence	✔
Courage to Change		✔
Equality PAC	✔
Food & Water Action		✔
Friends of Earth Action		✔
Human Rights Campaign	✔
Humanity Forward		✔
IfNotNow		✔
Indivisible		✔
Justice Democrats		✔
LGBTQ+ Victory Fund		✔
Our Revolution		✔
Peace Action		✔
Progressive Democrats of America		✔
Public Arts Commission		✔
Sunrise Movement		✔

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election. 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. 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
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.

Primaries in Massachusetts

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Massachusetts utilizes a semi-closed primary system. An unaffiliated voter is allowed to vote in the primary election of his or her choice.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

General election 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.
• 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.

Race ratings: Massachusetts' 1st Congressional District election, 2020
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 3, 2020	October 27, 2020	October 20, 2020	October 13, 2020
The Cook Political Report	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season.

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.

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.

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
✔		Richard Neal (D)	97.6	211,790
		Other/Write-in votes	2.4	5,110

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 216,900
= 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
✔		Richard Neal	70.7	49,696
		Tahirah Amatul-Wadud	29.3	20,565

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 70,261
= 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.

U.S. House, Massachusetts District 1 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Richard 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	Richard 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

• Massachusetts' 1st Congressional District election, 2020 (September 1 Republican primary)
• Massachusetts' 1st Congressional District election, 2020
• United States House elections in Massachusetts, 2020 (September 1 Democratic primaries)
• United States House elections in Massachusetts, 2020 (September 1 Republican primaries)
• United States House Democratic Party primaries, 2020
• United States House Republican Party primaries, 2020
• United States House of Representatives elections, 2020
• U.S. House battlegrounds, 2020

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic

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)

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