Massachusetts's 4th congressional district

Massachusetts's 4th congressional district is located mostly in southern Massachusetts. It is represented by Democrat Jake Auchincloss. Jake Auchincloss won this seat in the 2020 election.

Massachusetts's 4th congressional district
Massachusetts's 4th congressional district – since January 3, 2013.
Representative	Jake Auchincloss D–Newton
Population (2019)	765,466
Median household income	$104,857[1]
Cook PVI	D+9[2]

The district covers much of the area included in the 10th district before the 1992 redistricting. In prior years, the district stretched from Brookline to Fitchburg. The shape of the district underwent some changes effective from the elections of 2012, after Massachusetts congressional redistricting to reflect the 2010 census.[3] Most of Plymouth County and the South Coast are included in the new 9th district. The new 4th district has expanded westward to include towns along the Rhode Island border that had been in the old 3rd district.

For a very brief time (1793–95) it represented part of the District of Maine.

Recent election results from statewide races

Year	Office	Result
2000	President	Gore 65 - 29%
2004	President	Kerry 65 - 33%
2008	President	Obama 60.4 - 38%
2012	President	Obama 57.2 - 41.3%
2016	President	Clinton 59.2 - 35%
2020	President	Biden 64.8 - 32.8%

Cities and towns in the district

In Bristol County:

Attleboro, Berkley, Dighton, Easton, Fall River: Ward 4, Precinct C; Ward 5, Precinct B1 and C; Ward 6, Precinct C1; and Wards 7, 8, and 9, Freetown, Mansfield, North Attleborough, Norton, Raynham: Precincts 1A, 2A, 3, and 4, Rehoboth, Seekonk, Somerset, Swansea, and Taunton.

In Middlesex County:

Hopkinton, and Newton.

In Norfolk County:

Bellingham: Precincts 1, 2, 3, and 4, Brookline, Dover, Foxborough, Franklin, Medfield, Medway, Millis, Needham, Norfolk, Plainville, Sharon, Wellesley, and Wrentham.

In Plymouth County:

Lakeville.

In Worcester County:

Hopedale, and Milford.

1840s

"The towns of Acton, Ashby, Bedford, Boxborough, Burlington, Cambridge, Charlestown, Concord, Framingham, Hopkinton, Lexington, Lincoln, Marlborough, Pepperell, Shirley, Somerville, Stow, Sudbury, Townsend, Waltham, Watertown, Wayland, West Cambridge, Weston and Woburn, in the County of Middlesex, and the towns of Berlin, Bolton, Boylston, Fitchburg, Harvard, Lancaster, Leominster, Lunenburg, Northboro', Shrewsbury, Southborough, Sterling, and Westborough, in the County of Worcester."[4]

1850s

"The city of Roxbury, and the town of Brookline, in the county of Norfolk; and the wards numbered seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, and twelve, in the city of Boston, in the county of Suffolk."[5]

1860s

Boston (Wards 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9), Cambridge, Chelsea.[6]

1870s

Boston (Wards 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12), Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop.[7]

1910s

"Worcester County: City of Worcester; towns of Auburn, Blackstone Douglas, Grafton, Hopedale, Mendon, Milford, Millbury, Northbridge, Shrewsbury, Sutton, Upton, Uxbridge, and Westboro. Middlesex County: Town of Hopkinton."[8]

1940s

In Middlesex County: Ashland, Framingham, Hopkinton, Sudbury, Waltham, Wayland, Weston. In Worcester County: Auburn, Berlin, Boylston, Grafton, Holden, Northborough, Shrewsbury, Southborough, Sterling, Westborough, West Boylston, Worcester.[9]

1970s

"Middlesex County: Cities of Newton and Waltham. Towns of Ayer, Framingham, Lincoln, Maynard, Shirley, Stow, Sudbury, Wayland, and Weston. Norfolk County: Town of Brookline. Worcester County: Cities of Fitchburg, Gardner, and Leominster. Towns of Bolton, Harvard, Lancaster, Lunenburg, and Westminster."[10]

2003 to 2013

The district from 2003 to 2013

In Bristol County:

Acushnet, Berkley, Dartmouth, Dighton, Fairhaven, Fall River: Ward 4, Precinct C; Ward 5, Precinct C; Ward 6, Precinct A; Ward 7; Ward 8, Precincts A-C; Ward 9, Freetown, Mansfield, New Bedford, Norton, Raynham, Taunton, Westport.

In Middlesex County:

Newton, Sherborn.

In Norfolk County:

Brookline, Dover, Foxborough, Millis, Norfolk, Sharon, Wellesley.

In Plymouth County:

Halifax, Lakeville, Marion, Mattapoisett, Middleborough, Rochester, Wareham.

List of members representing the district

Member (District home)	Party	Years	Cong ress	Electoral history	District location
Theodore Sedgwick (Stockbridge)	Pro-Administration	March 4, 1789 – March 3, 1793	1st 2nd	Elected in 1789. Re-elected in 1790. Redistricted to the 2nd district.	1789–1793 Berkshire County
Henry Dearborn (Gardiner, Maine)	Anti-Administration	March 4, 1793 – March 3, 1795 (General ticket)	3rd	Elected in 1793 on the second ballot as part of a three-seat general ticket, representing the district from Lincoln, Hancock, and Washington Counties. Redistricted to the 12th district.	1793–1795 District of Maine
Peleg Wadsworth (Portland, Maine)	Pro-Administration			Elected in 1793 on the third ballot as part of a three-seat general ticket, representing the district from Cumberland County. Redistricted to the 13th district.
George Thatcher (Biddeford, Maine)	Pro-Administration			Redistricted from the 8th district and re-elected in 1792 as part of a three-seat general ticket, representing the district from York County. Redistricted to the 14th district.
Dwight Foster (Brookfield)	Federalist	March 4, 1795 – June 6, 1800	4th 5th 6th	Redistricted from the 2nd district and re-elected in 1794. Re-elected in 1796. Re-elected in 1798. Resigned when elected U.S. Senator.	1795–1803 "4th Western district"
Vacant		June 6, 1800 – December 15, 1800	6th
Levi Lincoln Sr. (Worcester)	Democratic-Republican	December 15, 1800 – March 5, 1801	6th 7th	Elected in 1800. Later elected to finish Foster's term. Resigned to become U.S. Attorney General.
Vacant		March 5, 1801 – August 24, 1801	7th
Seth Hastings (Mendon)	Federalist	August 24, 1801 – March 3, 1803		Elected to finish Lincoln's term and seated January 11, 1802.[11] Redistricted to the 10th district.
Joseph Bradley Varnum (Dracut)	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1803 – June 29, 1811	8th 9th 10th 11th 12th	Redistricted from the 9th district and re-elected in 1802. Re-elected in 1804. Re-elected in 1804. Re-elected in 1806. Re-elected in 1808. Re-elected in 1810. Resigned on election to U.S. Senate.	1803–1823 "Middlesex district"
Vacant		June 29, 1811 – November 4, 1811	12th
William M. Richardson (Groton)	Democratic-Republican	November 4, 1811 – April 18, 1814	12th 13th	Elected to finish Varnum's term. Re-elected in 1812. Resigned to become U.S. Attorney.
Vacant		April 18, 1814 – September 22, 1814	13th
Samuel Dana (Groton)	Democratic-Republican	September 22, 1814 – March 3, 1815		Elected May 23, 1814 to finish Richardson's term. (Seated September 22, 1814.[12]) Lost re-election.
Asahel Stearns (Charlestown)	Federalist	March 4, 1815 – March 3, 1817	14th	Elected in 1814. Lost re-election.
Timothy Fuller (Cambridgeport)	Democratic-Republican[lower-alpha 1]	March 4, 1817 – March 3, 1825	15th 16th 17th 18th	Elected in 1816. Re-elected in 1818. Re-elected in 1820. Re-elected in 1822. [data unknown/missing]
					1823–1833 "Middlesex district"
Edward Everett [data unknown/missing]	Anti-Jacksonian	March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1835	19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd	Elected in 1824. Re-elected in 1826. Re-elected in 1828. Re-elected in 1830. Re-elected in 1833. Retired.
					1833–1843 [data unknown/missing]
Samuel Hoar (Concord)	Anti-Jacksonian	March 4, 1835 – March 3, 1837	24th	Elected in 1834. Lost re-election.
William Parmenter (Cambridge)	Democratic	March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1845	25th 26th 27th 28th	Elected in 1836. Re-elected in 1838. Re-elected in 1840. Re-elected in 1842. Lost re-election.
1843–1853 [data unknown/missing]
	Benjamin Thompson (Charlestown)	Whig	March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1847	29th	Elected on the second ballot in 1844. Retired.
	John G. Palfrey (Cambridge)	Whig	March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1849	30th	Elected in 1846. Lost re-election.
	Vacant		March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1851	31st	No candidate received the needed majority of votes in twelve runnings of the 1848 election.
	Benjamin Thompson (Charlestown)	Whig	March 4, 1851 – September 24, 1852	32nd	Elected in 1850. Died.
	Vacant		September 25, 1852 – December 12, 1852
	Lorenzo Sabine (Framingham)	Whig	December 13, 1852 – March 3, 1853		Elected to finish Thompson's term. Retired.
Samuel H. Walley [data unknown/missing]	Whig	March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855	33rd	Elected in 1852. Lost re-election.	1853–1863 [data unknown/missing]
Linus B. Comins (Roxbury)	Know Nothing	March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1857	34th 35th	Elected in 1854. Re-elected in 1856. [data unknown/missing]
	Republican	March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1859
Alexander H. Rice[13] (Boston)	Republican	March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1863	36th 37th	Elected in 1858. Re-elected in 1860. Redistricted to the 3rd district.
Samuel Hooper[6] [data unknown/missing]	Republican	March 4, 1863 – February 14, 1875	38th 39th 40th 41st 42nd 43rd	Redistricted from the 5th district and re-elected in 1862. Re-elected in 1864. Re-elected in 1866. Re-elected in 1868. Re-elected in 1870. Re-elected in 1872. Retired, but died before retirement.	1863–1873 [data unknown/missing]
1873–1883 [data unknown/missing]
	Vacant		February 15, 1875 – March 3, 1875	43rd
	Rufus S. Frost (Chelsea)	Republican	March 4, 1875 – July 28, 1876	44th	Elected in 1874. Election challenged by successor.
	Josiah G. Abbott [data unknown/missing]	Democratic	July 28, 1876 – March 3, 1877		Successfully challenged predecessor. Lost re-election.
	Leopold Morse[14][15] (Boston)	Democratic	March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1883	45th 46th 47th	Elected in 1876. Re-elected in 1878. Re-elected in 1880. Redistricted to the 5th district.
Patrick A. Collins (Boston)	Democratic	March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1889	48th 49th 50th	Elected in 1882. Re-elected in 1884. Re-elected in 1886. Retired.	1883–1893 [data unknown/missing]
Joseph H. O'Neil (Boston)	Democratic	March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1893	51st 52nd	Elected in 1888. Re-elected in 1890. Redistricted to the 9th district.
Lewis D. Apsley (Hudson)	Republican	March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1897	53rd 54th	Elected in 1892. Re-elected in 1894. Retired.	1893–1903 [data unknown/missing]
George W. Weymouth[16] (Fitchburg)	Republican	March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1901	55th 56th	Elected in 1896. Re-elected in 1898. Retired.
Charles Q. Tirrell[17] (Natick)	Republican	March 4, 1901 – July 31, 1910	57th 58th 59th 60th 61st	Elected in 1900. Re-elected in 1902. Re-elected in 1904. Re-elected in 1906. Re-elected in 1908. Died.
1903–1913 [data unknown/missing]
	Vacant		August 1, 1910 – November 7, 1910	61st
	John Joseph Mitchell (Marlborough)	Democratic	November 8, 1910 – March 3, 1911		Elected to finish Tirrell's term. Lost election to the next term.
	William H. Wilder (Gardner)	Republican	March 4, 1911 – March 3, 1913	62nd	Elected in 1910. Redistricted to the 3rd district.
Samuel Winslow (Worcester)	Republican	March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1925	63rd 64th 65th 66th 67th 68th	Elected in 1912. Re-elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1916. Re-elected in 1918. Re-elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1922. Retired.	1913–1923 [data unknown/missing]
1923–1933 [data unknown/missing]
	George R. Stobbs (Worcester)	Republican	March 4, 1925 – March 3, 1931	69th 70th 71st	Elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Re-elected in 1928. Retired.
	Pehr G. Holmes[18] (Worcester)	Republican	March 4, 1931 – January 3, 1947	72nd 73rd 74th 75th 76th 77th 78th 79th	Elected in 1930. Re-elected in 1932. Re-elected in 1934. Re-elected in 1936. Re-elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1944. Lost re-election.
1933–1943 [data unknown/missing]
1943–1953 [data unknown/missing]
	Harold Donohue[19] (Worcester)	Democratic	January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1973	80th 81st 82nd 83rd 84th 85th 86th 87th 88th 89th 90th 91st 92nd	Elected in 1946. Re-elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Re-elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1958. Re-elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1962. Re-elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Redistricted to the 3rd district.
1953–1963 [data unknown/missing]
1963–1973 [data unknown/missing]
Robert Drinan (Newton)	Democratic	January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1981	93rd 94th 95th 96th	Redistricted from the 3rd district and re-elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Retired after Pope John Paul II ordered all priests to withdraw from electoral politics.	1973–1983 [data unknown/missing]
Barney Frank[20] (Newton)	Democratic	January 3, 1981 – January 3, 2013	97th 98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd 103rd 104th 105th 106th 107th 108th 109th 110th 111th 112th	Elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Re-elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Re-elected in 2010. Retired.
					1983–1993 [data unknown/missing]
					1993–2003 [data unknown/missing]
					2003–2013
Joe Kennedy III (Brookline)	Democratic	January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2021	113th 114th 115th 116th	Elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Retired to run for U.S. senator.	2013–present
Jake Auchincloss (Newton)	Democratic	January 3, 2021 – Present	117th	Elected in 2020.

Recent election results

2002

U.S. House election, 2002: Massachusetts, District 4

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Barney Frank	166,125	98.99	+24.09
	Write-in		1,691	1.01	+0.96
Turnout			167,816	100	-

2004

U.S. House election, 2004: Massachusetts, District 4

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Barney Frank	219,260	77.74	−21.25
	Independent	Chuck Morse	62,293	22.09	+22.09
	Write-in		486	0.17	−0.84
Turnout			282,039	100	-

2006

U.S. House election, 2006: Massachusetts, District 4

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Barney Frank	176,513	98.48	+20.74
	Write-in		2,730	1.52	+1.35
Turnout			179,243	100	-

2008

U.S. House election, 2008: Massachusetts, District 4

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Barney Frank	203,032	64.3	−34.18
	Republican	Earl Henry Sholley	75,571	23.9	+23.9
	Independent	Susan Allen	19,848	6.29	+6.29
	Write-in		337	0.11	−1.41
	Blank/Scattering		16,946	5.37	+5.37
Turnout			315,734	100	-

2010

U.S. House election, 2010: Massachusetts, District 4

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Barney Frank	126,194	53.9	−10.4
	Republican	Sean Bielat	101,517	43.4	+19.5
	Independent	Susan Allen	3,445	1.5	−4.79
	Independent	Donald Jordan	2,873	1.2	+1.2
Turnout			234,029	100	-

2012

U.S. House election, 2012: Massachusetts, District 4

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joe Kennedy III	219,499	61.1	+7.2
	Republican	Sean Bielat	129,243	36.0	−7.4
	Independent	David Rosa	10,674	2.9	+0.2
Turnout			356,416	100	-

2014

Massachusetts's 4th Congressional District, 2014[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joe Kennedy III	184,158	97.91
	No party	All Others	3,940	2.09
Total votes			188,098	100
	Democratic hold

2016

U.S. House election, 2016: Massachusetts, District 4

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joe Kennedy III	265,823	70.1	+9
	Republican	David Rosa	113,055	29.8	−6.2
	Write-in		335	0.1
Turnout			379,213	100	-

2018

U.S. House election, 2018: Massachusetts, District 4

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joe Kennedy III (Incumbent)	245,289	97.7
	n/a	Write-ins	5,727	2.3
Total votes			251,016	100.0
	Democratic hold

2020

U.S. House election, 2020: Massachusetts, District 4

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jake Auchincloss	251,102	60.8
	Republican	Julie Hall	160,474	38.9
	Write-in		1,247	0.3
Total votes			412,823	100.0
	Democratic hold

Notes

1. Supported the Adams-Clay faction in the 1824 United States presidential election.

References

1. https://www.census.gov/mycd/?st=25&cd=04
2. "Partisan Voting Index – Districts of the 115th Congress" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
3. http://www.sec.state.ma.us/spr/sprcat/catpdf2010/cong2010/CongressionalDistrict_2011State.pdf Access date: March 28, 2012.
4. "State Apportionment; districts of the Commonwealth for the choice of one representative to Congress in each district". Massachusetts Register .. for 1843. Boston: Loring.
5. "Congressional Districts". Massachusetts Register 1862. Boston: Adams, Sampson, & Co.
6. Ben. Perley Poore (1869). "Massachusetts". Congressional Directory for the First Session of the Forty-First Congress (2nd ed.). Washington DC: Government Printing Office.
7. "Congressional Districts of Massachusetts". Massachusetts Register and Business Directory, 1878. Boston: Sampson, Davenport, and Co.
8. "Massachusetts". Official Congressional Directory: 64th Congress (2nd ed.). Washington DC: Government Printing Office. 1916.
9. Commonwealth of Massachusetts (1941), "Population of Congressional Districts", Population of Massachusetts as determined by the sixteenth census of the United States, 1940, Boston: Wright & Potter, OCLC 10056477, House No. 2849
10. "Massachusetts", 1977 Official Congressional Directory: 95th Congress, Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1977
11. House official membership roster for the 7th Congress Archived December 6, 2014, at the Wayback Machine (footnote 18)
12. 13th Congress membership roster Archived December 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
13. "Massachusetts". Congressional Directory for the Second Session of the Thirty-Seventh Congress. Washington DC: House of Representatives. 1861.
14. Ben. Perley Poore (1878). "Massachusetts". Congressional Directory: 45th Congress (3rd ed.). Washington DC: Government Printing Office.
15. Ben. Perley Poore (1882). "Massachusetts". Congressional Directory: 47th Congress (3rd ed.). Washington DC: Government Printing Office.
16. L.A. Coolidge (1897). "Massachusetts". Official Congressional Directory: Fifty-Fifth Congress. Washington DC: Government Printing Office.
17. A.J. Halford (1909). "Massachusetts". Congressional Directory: 60th Congress (2nd ed.). Washington DC: Government Printing Office.
18. "Massachusetts". Official Congressional Directory: 75th Congress (2nd ed.). Washington DC: Government Printing Office. 1938.
19. "Massachusetts". Official Congressional Directory: 90th Congress. Washington DC: Government Printing Office. 1968.
20. "Massachusetts". 1991-1992 Official Congressional Directory: 102nd Congress. Washington DC: Government Printing Office. 1991.
21. "Massachusetts Secretary of State Election Results 2014" (PDF). Massachusetts Secretary of State. November 4, 2014. Retrieved December 26, 2014.

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

External links

• Rose Institute of State and Local Government, "Massachusetts: 2010 Redistricting Changes: Fourth District", Redistricting by State, Claremont, CA: Claremont McKenna College, archived from the original on September 15, 2020
• "Our Campaigns - United States - Massachusetts - MA - District 04". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2020-12-31.

Maps

• Map of Massachusetts's 4th Congressional District, via Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth

Election results

• CNN.com 2004 election results
• CNN.com 2006 election results
• US House of Representatives Clerk's Office, 2006 election results
• US House of Representatives Clerk's Office, 2008 election results
• Massachusetts U.S. Congress 2010 Election Results