Of the nation’s 435 congressional districts, none have a greater proportion of never-married men than Massachusetts’ 7th. According to the 2014 American Community Survey, 59 percent of males over the age of 15 in the district have never been wed; nationally, the number is 36.5 percent.
The 7th is centered around the Boston area. The district contains all or part of several colleges including Harvard, MIT, Tufts, Boston College, Boston University, and Northeastern, which helps explain why there are so many unmarried young people in the area. About three-quarters of the city of Boston is in the 7th. While downtown is mostly located in the nearby 8th District, the 7th contains some famous landmarks like Fenway Park, the USS Constitution, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. The seat also contains all of Somerville, about half of Cambridge, and a few other suburban communities.
The 7th is a direct descendent of the seats that were once represented by John F. Kennedy and Tip O'Neill. Obama carried the district 83-16, making it blue even by Massachusetts standards.
Since 1999, Democratic Rep. Mike Capuano has represented the area. While two-thirds of the district lives in Boston, Capuano is actually a politician from suburban Somerville. Capuano was Somerville’s mayor when Rep. Joe Kennedy II (the father of current 4th District Rep. Joe Kennedy III) announced his retirement, and he faced nine opponents in the primary.
Capuano’s main foe was ex-Boston Mayor Ray Flynn, who had recently served as the Clinton administration’s ambassador to the Vatican. Capuano benefited from high-turnout in his home base, and Flynn’s inability to consolidate the Boston vote in such a crowded field.
While Capuano only won 12 percent of the vote in Boston, Flynn’s 24 percent wasn’t overwhelming; meanwhile, Capuano took 56 percent in Somerville and carried, or at least held his own, in the other suburban communities. Capuano ended up beating Flynn 23-17; since then, he’s faced no serious opponents in any of his re-election campaigns.
Capuano has amassed a liberal record in the House, but he’s eyed a promotion for a while. Capuano ran in the special election for Ted Kennedy’s old Senate seat, but he badly lost the December 2009 primary to then-Attorney General Martha Coakley, who ended up losing the general election to Republican Scott Brown. Capuano considered challenging Brown in 2012, but ultimately deferred to Elizabeth Warren; Capuano also mulled running in another Senate special election after John Kerry was appointed secretary of state, but he sat that one out too. Capuano spent months considering a gubernatorial bid in 2014, but he also decided not to go for it. It may be a while before Capuano gets another good chance to go statewide.
“The Most District” is an ongoing series devoted to highlighting congressional district superlatives around the nation. Click here for all posts in this series.