BOSTON — U.S. Reps. James McGovern and Richard Neal easily won reelection on Tuesday, as Massachusetts Democrats maintained their hold on the state’s Congressional delegation.

In addition to McGovern and Neal, two other incumbents fended off Republican and Independent challengers and the remaining five coasted to two-year terms without opponents.

Republicans and Independents have had a tough time winning seats in Congress in the heavily Democratic state. No Republican has been elected to the U.S. House in Massachusetts in nearly three decades.

The five Democrats who ran unopposed: Jake Auchincloss, Katherine Clark, Seth Moulton, Ayanna Pressley and Lori Trahan.

Neal won the 1st Congressional District by defeating Independent Nadia Milleron to capture his 19th term.

Neal took a strong lead in the four Franklin County towns included in his district, winning 64.6% of the vote in Charlemont, 63.7% of the vote in Hawley and 60.4% of the vote in Rowe. Neal narrowly won Monroe with just two more votes than opponent Milleron. Neal won 33 votes as opposed to Milleron’s 31.

Neal was first elected to Congress in 1988 to represent the 1st Congressional District, the state’s largest in the western and central regions. He’s the top Democrat on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.

Neal has said that his priorities include “fairer taxes, affordable and accessible health care, taking on climate change, preserving Social Security and more.”

Milleron, the niece of consumer advocate Ralph Nader, said she was driven to run for Congress after her daughter’s 2019 death in the second Boeing 737 Max crash, in Ethiopia. Milleron pushed for passage of a 2020 law requiring the Federal Aviation Administration to change how it certifies new planes.

McGovern, meanwhile, won the 2nd Congressional District by defeating a challenge from Independent Cornelius Shea.

McGovern won 71% of the 46,672 votes cast in the race across Franklin County and North Quabbin municipalities, triumphing over Shea, who earned just 29% of the vote in those communities.

McGovern took strong leads in Greenfield, receiving 77% of the 8,903 votes cast, Shelburne with 79% of the vote, and Sunderland with 81.8% of the vote. He narrowly took Athol with 54.8% of the vote, and Royalston with 55.7% of the vote.

Shea only surpassed McGovern in the town of Phillipston, where he earned 604 votes in comparison to McGovern’s 495.

Throughout his tenure in Congress, McGovern, who was first elected to Congress in 1996, has cast himself as an advocate for human rights, including in China’s Tibet, campaign finance reform and social justice.

McGovern has also been a vigorous critic of the Republican Party under former President Donald Trump.

Shea, a 20-year Marine veteran, worked for AT&T before becoming a public school teacher in Worcester. In a campaign statement, he listed illegal immigration, drug overdoses, terrorism and health care costs as his top concerns.

Other races

Democrat Stephen Lynch was reelected to the U.S. House seat he’s held for more than two decades, brushing back an effort by Republican Robert Burke to unseat him.

Lynch has held the state’s 8th Congressional District, which includes parts of Boston, since he was elected following the death of Rep. Joseph Moakley in 2001.

Democrat Bill Keating won reelection to the U.S. House, overcoming a challenge from Republican Dan Sullivan.

Keating, who was first elected to the House in 2010, represents the state’s 9th Congressional District, which includes the state’s South Shore, South Coast, Cape Cod and the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.

Greenfield Recorder Staff Writer Madison Schofield contributed to this report.