Thirteen candidates are running for Massachusetts’ nine U.S. House districts—the fewest in the last 10 years

This year’s filing deadline for candidates running for Congress in Massachusetts was June 4, 2024.

Thirteen candidates are running for Massachusetts’ nine U.S. House districts, including nine Democrats and four Republicans. That’s an average of 1.44 candidates per district. There was an average of 2.11 candidates per district in 2022, 3.00 candidates per district in 2020, and 3.44 candidates per district in 2018.

Here are some other highlights from this year’s filings:

• The number of candidates running for the U.S. House in Massachusetts this year is also fewer than any other year in the last 10 years. Between 2014 and 2022, an average of 22.2 candidates ran per election cycle.

• No districts are open this year, meaning all incumbents are running for re-election.
• Four candidates—one Democrat and three Republican—are running for the 8th Congressional District, the most candidates running for a district in Massachusetts this year.
• The Republican primary in the 8th Congressional District is the only contested primary this year. Between 2014 and 2022, an average of 3.4 were contested each election cycle.
• No incumbents are in contested primaries this year.
• Democrats are guaranteed to win seven of the state’s nine U.S. House districts because no Republicans will appear on the ballot. Candidates filed to run in the Republican and Democratic primaries in the 8th and 9th Congressional Districts, meaning neither seat is guaranteed to either party.

Massachusetts is holding primary elections on September 3.

In Massachusetts, the winner of the primary election is the candidate who receives the greatest number of votes, even if they do not win more than 50 percent of the vote.