Massachusetts held a special election to fill a vacancy in Massachusetts's 5th congressional district on October 16, 2007. Democrat Niki Tsongas won election to Congress, defeating Republican Jim Ogonowski in an election that was closer than expected.
Marty Meehan had been the district's Representative to Congress since 1993. He announced his resignation in May 2007 (effective July 1), allowing him to become the next Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Meehan had last won re-election in 2006, when he ran unopposed. The district was considered to be strongly Democratic, as it voted 58% for the Democratic candidate (John Kerry) in the most recent presidential election. In addition, Massachusetts had not elected a Republican to Congress since Peter Blute and Peter Torkildsen were last elected to office in 1994 (both were defeated in 1996). No Republican had held the 5th congressional district's seat since Paul W. Cronin departed from office in 1975 after his defeat by Democrat Paul Tsongas in 1974.
A primary election was held on September 4, 2007 to determine each political party's nominee for the general election. Niki Tsongas won the Democratic nomination and Jim Ogonowski won the Republican nomination. Tsongas won the general election, held on October 16, 2007, with 51% of the vote; Ogonowski received 45%.
Candidates
All candidates for the election are listed alphabetically first by party, then by name. Bold is primary winners and general election candidates.
Constitution
Kevin Thompson – State Constitution Party Secretary from Brockton
Democratic
Eileen Donoghue – City Councilor and former Lowell Mayor
Jamie Eldridge – State Representative from Acton
Barry Finegold – State Representative from Andover
Jim Miceli – State Representative from Wilmington
Niki Tsongas – Dean at Middlesex Community College from Lowell, and widow of Paul Tsongas
Independent
Kurt Hayes – Businessman from Boxborough
Patrick O. Murphy – Brick and stonemason from Lowell
Republican
Jim Ogonowski – Former Air Force Lt. Colonel from Dracut, and brother of John
Thomas Tierney – Self-Employed Independent Consulting Actuary from Framingham
Withdrawn / not running
Democratic
James DiPaola – Middlesex County Sheriff
David O'Brien – Democratic National Committee member from Concord
Republican
Fred Smerlas – Former NFL defensive lineman
Michael J. Sullivan – Mayor of Lawrence
Polling
Democratic primary
Republican primary
General Election
Results
Bold indicates winner of nomination. Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20120207164837/http://www.thebostonchannel.com/politics/14003157/detail.html