akashic
1876–2024
Congressional District 2·Massachusetts

Massachusetts 2nd Congressional District has voted Democratic by double digits in every cycle this century.

A sprawling western Mass. district where college towns anchor Democratic margins

18762024·38 elections
MA
Latest
D+20
in 2024
Archetype
Urban anchor
since the recent cycles
Population
776,626
2024 ACS

Massachusetts 2nd Congressional District, Massachusetts: Urban anchor district. In 2024, voted D+20%. Republican peak: R+53 in 1896.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin
D+20MIT Election Lab
Political archetype
Urban anchorAkashic typology
Population
776,6262024 5-year
Median household income
$99,5902024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
73.9%2024 5-year
Black
4.7%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
11.6%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+52 in 1964MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+53 in 1896MIT Election Lab
D
McGOVERN, James P.Congress 119 · Democratic

Predecessors: NEAL, Richard Edmund (2011–2013), NEAL, Richard Edmund (2009–2011), NEAL, Richard Edmund (2007–2009), NEAL, Richard Edmund (2005–2007)

Source · Voteview / Lewis, Poole, Rosenthal et al. (CC-BY).

5 counties · 5 D · 0 R
R+60
D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
D
+20.4%
228,195148,961388,461
D
+27.5%
250,572139,585403,470
D
+20.2%
204,684129,768371,188
D
+19.3%
203,519136,261347,744
D
+22.8%
205,739127,598341,987
D
+21.8%
193,901123,702322,309
D
+22.6%
167,951101,125295,792
D
+31.7%
168,00979,034280,433
D
+16.5%
140,83590,723304,352
D
+4.6%
146,964133,957284,418
R
−6.9%
125,728144,539271,183
D
+0.4%
113,400112,422269,144
D
+19.1%
158,923106,408274,240
D
+5.3%
135,872122,169259,569
D
+26.8%
151,43785,575245,456
D
+51.6%
187,79659,620248,347
D
+16.6%
152,218108,917261,608
R
−23.7%
94,259152,942247,778
R
−12.0%
109,434139,328249,359
D
+5.4%
113,831102,015219,482
D
+4.9%
104,98795,103200,475
D
+6.3%
110,98997,863209,876
D
+6.4%
96,69584,485191,390
R
−5.1%
75,79784,136163,974
R
−9.1%
74,35489,291164,604
R
−45.1%
27,24481,581120,515
R
−42.2%
29,62174,485106,393
R
−10.1%
24,49630,18556,146
R
−9.2%
16,26221,15853,070
R
−33.0%
14,83431,33850,043
R
−33.7%
14,99231,32048,425
R
−31.5%
15,02329,62946,405
R
−52.7%
9,54833,09544,676
R
−13.3%
19,03925,12845,664
No data
No data
No data
No data

U.S. Senate

Source · MIT Election Lab (MEDSL), Senate. CC-BY 4.0.
YearWonD %R %Total
2024D58.1%38.9%3,512,930
2020D64.5%32.2%3,658,005
2018D60.3%36.2%2,707,090
2014D59.0%36.2%2,186,789
2012D53.3%45.8%3,184,196
2008D63.6%29.8%3,102,995
2006D66.9%29.5%2,243,835
2002D72.3%0.0%2,220,301
2000D69.1%12.2%2,734,048
1996D52.2%44.7%2,555,942
1994D58.1%41.0%2,179,945
1990D54.5%41.0%2,424,579
1988D65.0%33.9%2,606,225
1984D55.1%44.9%2,530,471
1982D60.8%38.3%2,050,769
1978D55.1%44.8%1,985,700
1976D69.3%29.0%2,491,255

Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
Irish
17.5%
Italian
11.0%
English
10.6%
French
7.2%
German
5.9%
Polish
5.2%
American
3.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
78.7%
speak English only
Spanish7.9%
Other Indo-European7.6%
Asian & Pacific Islander3.7%
Other languages2.0%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Catholic & Orthodox
31.1%
Other Christian
3.7%
Non-Christian
3.1%
Mainline Protestant
2.6%
Pentecostal & Holiness
0.9%
Baptist
0.7%
Methodist
0.7%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 57.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Stretching from the Pioneer Valley to the Rhode Island border, MA-02 blends dense college-town precincts in Amherst and Northampton with rural hill towns, producing consistent double-digit Democratic margins in federal races.

The Democratic margin in Massachusetts 2nd Congressional District has been steady. It reached its modern peak at fifty-two points in 1964; the 2024 margin was twenty points, still in line with the district's long pattern.

Its political identity is inseparable from its demographic profile: a 74% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $99,590, and the full diversity of a major metropolitan center.

Compare two places, side by side

Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →

Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Congressional District 2, Massachusetts. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cd/2502/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Congressional District 2, Massachusetts vote in 2024?
In 2024, Congressional District 2, Massachusetts voted Democratic by 20.4 points (D+20), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 388,461 votes cast, 228,195 went Democratic and 148,961 went Republican.
What is Congressional District 2, Massachusetts's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Congressional District 2, Massachusetts as a "Urban anchor" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 20 times, Republican 14 times, and other 0 times.
When did Congressional District 2, Massachusetts last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Congressional District 2, Massachusetts voted Republican was 1984.
How many people live in Congressional District 2, Massachusetts?
Congressional District 2, Massachusetts has a population of 776,626 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Congressional District 2, Massachusetts?
Median household income in Congressional District 2, Massachusetts is $99,590 — above the national median of $80,734. The Massachusetts state median is $103,960.
What is the political history of Congressional District 2, Massachusetts?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Congressional District 2, Massachusetts from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 20 went Democratic and 14 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Urban anchor" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.