Massachusetts' 8th Congressional District election, 2026
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← 2024
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| Massachusetts' 8th Congressional District |
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| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: June 2, 2026 |
| Primary: September 1, 2026 General: November 3, 2026 |
| How to vote |
| Poll times:
7 a.m. to 8 p.m. |
| Race ratings |
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending 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, 2026 |
| See also |
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th Massachusetts elections, 2026 U.S. Congress elections, 2026 U.S. Senate elections, 2026 U.S. House elections, 2026 |
All U.S. House districts, including the 8th Congressional District of Massachusetts, are holding elections in 2026. The general election is November 3, 2026. The primary is September 1, 2026. The filing deadline is June 2, 2026. For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:
- Massachusetts' 8th Congressional District election, 2026 (September 1 Democratic primary)
- Massachusetts' 8th Congressional District election, 2026 (September 1 Republican primary)
Candidates and election results
Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:
- Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
- Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for U.S. House Massachusetts District 8
Incumbent Stephen Lynch, Patrick Roath, Andrew Zylberfink, and Walter Grochowski are running in the general election for U.S. House Massachusetts District 8 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Stephen Lynch (D) | ||
| Patrick Roath (D) | ||
Andrew Zylberfink (D) ![]() | ||
| Walter Grochowski (R) | ||
= 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
- Kelechi Linardon (Unenrolled)
Candidate profiles
This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.
Voting information
- See also: Voting in Massachusetts
Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.
Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses
Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
Survey responses from candidates in this race
Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.
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.
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Voting Rights & Reform - we need to make it easier to elect third parties by eliminating congressional districts and enabling state-wide voting. We need automatic voter registration and make it easier to vote. We need to enact term limits for Congress and ban their trading of stock while holding office. We have to reverse Citizens United and limit corporate spending in elections. We must pursue constitutional amendments to secure these rights.
Freedom of Speech and protection of the media - we need to restore funding to NPR and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. We need stronger antitrust legislation to ensure an independent and unbiased media. We need to ensure that protests and demonstrations are permitted without threats of violence or retribution.
Strong antitrust legislation.
Ensuring equitable taxation where the wealthy (especially billionaires) pay their fair share of taxes.
Overhauling our education and healthcare systems to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to live, learn, and have a shot at the American Dream.
You can ask candidates in this race to fill out the survey by clicking their names below:
Campaign finance
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen Lynch | Democratic Party | $274,867 | $306,965 | $1,056,626 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| Patrick Roath | Democratic Party | $430,481 | $169,112 | $261,369 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| Andrew Zylberfink | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Walter Grochowski | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. 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." |
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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.[1]
- 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.[2][3][4]
| Race ratings: Massachusetts' 8th Congressional District election, 2026 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| 1/13/2026 | 1/6/2026 | 12/23/2025 | 12/16/2025 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | |||||
| Decision Desk HQ and The Hill | Pending | Pending | Pending | Pending | |||||
| 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 reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week. | |||||||||
Ballot access
The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Massachusetts in the 2026 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Massachusetts, click here.
| Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2026 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Office | Party | Signatures required | Filing fee | Filing deadline | Source |
| Massachusetts | U.S. House | Ballot-qualified party | 2,000 | N/A | 6/2/2026 | Source |
| Massachusetts | U.S. House | Unaffiliated | 2,000 | N/A | 8/25/2026 | Source |
District history
The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2020.
General election
General election for U.S. House Massachusetts District 8
Incumbent Stephen Lynch (D) defeated Robert Burke (R) 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 | ||
| 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for U.S. House Massachusetts District 8
Incumbent Stephen Lynch (D) 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 | ||
| 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
Republican primary for U.S. House Massachusetts District 8
Robert Burke (R) defeated James Govatsos (R) and Daniel Kelly (R) 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 | |
| Daniel Kelly | 25.7 | 5,761 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.6% | 127 | ||
| 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)
General election
General election for U.S. House Massachusetts District 8
Incumbent Stephen Lynch (D) defeated Robert Burke (R) in the general election for U.S. House Massachusetts District 8 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Stephen Lynch (D) | 69.7 | 189,987 |
| | Robert Burke (R) | 30.1 | 82,126 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2% | 451 | ||
| Total votes: 272,564 | ||||
= 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
Democratic primary for U.S. House Massachusetts District 8
Incumbent Stephen Lynch (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Massachusetts District 8 on September 6, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Stephen Lynch | 99.0 | 73,191 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.0% | 715 | ||
| Total votes: 73,906 | ||||
= 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
- Michael Ruiz (D)
Republican primary
Republican primary for U.S. House Massachusetts District 8
Robert Burke (R) defeated Hamilton Soares Rodrigues (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Massachusetts District 8 on September 6, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Robert Burke | 73.0 | 19,173 |
| | Hamilton Soares Rodrigues ![]() | 26.6 | 6,977 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.5% | 124 | ||
| Total votes: 26,274 | ||||
= 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
- Ray Alongi (R)
General election
General election for U.S. House Massachusetts District 8
Incumbent Stephen Lynch (D) defeated Jonathan D. Lott (Healthcare Environment Stability) in the general election for U.S. House Massachusetts District 8 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Stephen Lynch (D) | 80.7 | 310,940 |
| | Jonathan D. Lott (Healthcare Environment Stability) ![]() | 18.7 | 72,060 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.6% | 2,401 | ||
| Total votes: 385,401 | ||||
= 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
Democratic primary for U.S. House Massachusetts District 8
Incumbent Stephen Lynch (D) defeated Robbie Goldstein (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Massachusetts District 8 on September 1, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Stephen Lynch | 66.4 | 111,542 |
| | Robbie Goldstein ![]() | 33.5 | 56,219 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1% | 222 | ||
| Total votes: 167,983 | ||||
= 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
- Mohammad Dar (D)
- Brianna Wu (D)
Republican primary
The Republican primary scheduled for September 1, 2020, was canceled.
District analysis
Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.
- District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
- Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2026 U.S. House elections in the state.
- Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
- State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
Below is the district map in place for this election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

Partisan Voter Index
Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is D+15. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 15 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Massachusetts' 8th the 93rd most Democratic district nationally.[5]
2020 presidential election results
The table below shows what the vote in the 2024 presidential election was in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by The Downballot.
| Kamala Harris | Donald Trump |
|---|---|
| 62.0% | 36.0% |
Presidential voting history
Massachusetts presidential election results (1900-2024)
- 22 Democratic wins
- 10 Republican wins
| Year | 1900 | 1904 | 1908 | 1912 | 1916 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1940 | 1944 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winning Party | R | R | R | D | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
Congressional delegation
The table below displays the partisan composition of Massachusetts' congressional delegation as of October 2025.
| Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Massachusetts | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | U.S. Senate | U.S. House | Total |
| Democratic | 2 | 9 | 11 |
| Republican | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vacancies | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 9 | 11 |
State executive
The table below displays the officeholders in Massachusetts' top four state executive offices as of October 2025.
| Office | Officeholder |
|---|---|
| Governor | |
| Lieutenant Governor | |
| Secretary of State | |
| Attorney General |
State legislature
Massachusetts State Senate
| Party | As of January 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 34 | |
| Republican Party | 5 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 1 | |
| Total | 40 | |
Massachusetts House of Representatives
| Party | As of January 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 133 | |
| Republican Party | 25 | |
| Other | 1 | |
| Unenrolled | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 1 | |
| Total | 160 | |
Trifecta control
Massachusetts Party Control: 1992-2025
Eleven years of Democratic trifectas • No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D |
| Senate | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| House | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)," accessed July 1, 2025
