Massachusetts' 3rd Congressional District election, 2016

2018 → ← 2014

Massachusetts' 3rd Congressional District

General Election Date November 8, 2016

Primary Date September 8, 2016

November 8 Election Winner: Niki Tsongas

Incumbent prior to election: Niki Tsongas

Race Ratings Cook Political Report: Solid D Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe D Rothenberg & Gonzales: Safe D

Massachusetts U.S. House Elections District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 4 • District 5 • District 6 • District 7 District 8 • District 9

2016 U.S. Senate Elections

2016 U.S. House Elections

The 3rd Congressional District of Massachusetts held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 8, 2016.

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent Niki Tsongas (D) defeated Ann Wofford (R) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Neither candidate faced a primary opponent in September.

Candidate Filing Deadline	Primary Election	General Election
June 7, 2016	September 8, 2016	November 8, 2016

Primary: 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.

Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was Niki Tsongas (D), who was first elected in 2007.

Massachusetts' 3rd Congressional District is located in the northern portion of the state and includes parts of Worcester, Middlesex and Essex counties.

Election results

General election

U.S. House, Massachusetts District 3 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Niki Tsongas Incumbent	68.7%	236,713
	Republican	Ann Wofford	31.2%	107,519
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	360
Total Votes				344,592
Source: Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth

Candidates

General election candidates:

Niki Tsongas a
Ann Wofford

Primary candidates:

Democratic

Niki Tsongas - Incumbent a

Republican

Ann Wofford a

District history

2014

See also: Massachusetts' 3rd Congressional District elections, 2014

The 3rd Congressional District of Massachusetts held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Niki Tsongas (D) defeated Roseann Ehrhard Wofford (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, Massachusetts District 3 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Niki Tsongas Incumbent	60.3%	139,140
	Republican	Ann Wofford	35.4%	81,638
	Write-in	Other	0.1%	204
	Blank	None	4.3%	9,843
Total Votes				230,825
Source: Massachusetts Secretary of State Official Results

2012

See also: Massachusetts' 3rd Congressional District elections, 2012

The 3rd Congressional District of Massachusetts held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Niki Tsongas (D) won the election in the district.

U.S. House, Massachusetts District 3 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Niki Tsongas Incumbent	63.3%	212,119
	Republican	Jon Golnik	32.6%	109,372
	N/A	All Others	0.1%	262
	N/A	Blank Votes	4%	13,358
Total Votes				335,111
Source: Massachusetts Secretary of State "Return of Votes"

Important dates and deadlines

See also: Massachusetts elections, 2016

The calendar below lists important dates for political candidates in Massachusetts in 2016.

Dates and requirements for candidates in 2016
Deadline	Event type	Event description
May 3, 2016	Ballot access	Last day for party and non-party candidates for district and county offices to submit nomination papers to registrars of voters for signature certification
May 10, 2016	Ballot access	Last day for party candidates for federal and statewide offices candidates to submit nomination papers to registrars of voters for signature certification
May 31, 2016	Ballot access	Last day for party and non-party candidates for district and county offices to file nomination papers with the secretary of the commonwealth
June 7, 2016	Ballot access	Last day for party candidates for federal and statewide offices to file nomination papers with the secretary of the commonwealth
August 2, 2016	Ballot access	Last day for non-party candidates for federal and statewide offices candidates to submit nomination papers to registrars of voters for signature certification
August 30, 2016	Ballot access	Last day for non-party candidates for federal and statewide offices to file nomination papers with the secretary of the commonwealth
September 8, 2016	Election date	Primary election
September 12, 2016	Campaign finance	Pre-primary report due (covering January 1, 2016–September 2, 2016)
October 31, 2016	Campaign finance	Pre-election report due (covering September 3, 2016–October 21, 2016)
November 8, 2016	Election date	General election
January 20, 2017	Campaign finance	Year-end report due (covering October 22, 2016–December 31, 2016)
Sources: Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance, "Filing Schedules," accessed June 30, 2015 Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "2016 Massachusetts State Primary and State Election Schedule," accessed June 30, 2015

See also

• United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts, 2016
• United States House of Representatives elections, 2016

Footnotes

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For information about public policy issues in the 2016 elections, see: Public policy in the 2016 elections!

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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)