katherine clark, ap

Democrat Katherine Clark speaks to supporters as her husband, Rod, listens at her election night party in Stoneham, Mass., Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2013, where she claimed victory in a special election for the vacated seat in Massachusetts' 5th Congressional District.

(AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Katherine Clark, elected Tuesday night to represent Massachusetts' 5th District, will join the minority Democratic Party in Congress at a time when Congress is gridlocked.

Democrats and Republicans show no inclination to cooperate. The Democratic Party is divided between centrists and progressives, with many progressives looking to Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren as a leader.

Clark, like many in the Massachusetts congressional delegation, is a progressive Democrat who is unlikely to break with her party or Democratic President Barack Obama on major policies. However, like most members of Congress, observers say Clark could make a difference if she focuses on a few specific issues.

During her campaign, Clark talked mostly about women's economic issues. She says the first bill she will sign onto is the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would make it easier for women for prove pay discrimination and enhance penalties for violating the equal wage law. In an interview, Clark indicated that she hopes to hone in on education and energy policy issues as well and would like to work across the aisle to make progress.

“I see myself in the Elizabeth Warren wing. I definitely identify as a progressive,” Clark said. “And I also think that much like Elizabeth Warren, I bring a common sense approach to it." She said her experience as a state senator and her role as a mom of three boys has shown her the value of compromise.”

Clark, 50, of Melrose, spent most of her career as a lawyer, working as a prosecutor, private practice attorney, general counsel for the Massachusetts Office of Child Care Services and chief of the policy division for the Massachusetts Attorney General. She rose quickly in politics, getting elected to the State House in 2008 and the State Senate in 2010. When Congressman Ed Markey was elected to the U.S. Senate, opening up the House seat representing the suburbs north and west of Boston, Clark defeated four other elected officials to win the special election primary, then cruised to victory in the general election.

On many of the issues currently facing Congress, Clark lines up with Democrats. “She’ll be a fairly typical Democrat,” said Peter Ubertaccio, associate professor of political science at Stonehill College. “She’s shown very little in her career where she’s going deviate from the party line.”

Clark supports the immigration reform bill that was passed in the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate, with some Republican support, which would give illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.

Clark said she supports Obama's foreign policy of "leading with diplomacy." She advocates the use of diplomacy, strategic foreign aid and humanitarian aid, backing it up with military force only if U.S. national security is threatened. Clark sees an "opportunity" in Obama's interim agreement with Iran, in which Iran will stop progress on aspects of its nuclear program in exchange for reduced sanctions. But she said the U.S. must proceed with "optimism but caution" and examine Iran's actions "with a magnifying glass" to ensure Iran upholds its responsibilities.

Clark supports the Affordable Care Act, but said Congress should continue to improve the bill, as Massachusetts has done with its health care reform, looking at whether it is successful in containing premiums, encouraging preventative care and achieving mental health parity. Like many Massachusetts politicians, she opposes the medical device tax included in the bill.

One break with Obama is Clark’s opposition to using a formula called “chained CPI” to calculate – and lower – Social Security benefits. Many progressive Democrats oppose the use of chained CPI, which Obama says he would support as part of a compromise to reduce the deficit. Clark would support increasing the Social Security wage cap so people earning more money pay more.

Rob Cunningham, executive director of the Massachusetts Republican Party, said Clark is likely to be "hyper-partisan" as a congresswoman. Cunningham pointed to the low scores given to Clark's legislative record by the fiscally conservative groups Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance and Citizens for Limited Taxation in Government. "There's no secret about Katherine Clark's approach to government – bigger, more costly, more intrusive and a typical left-wing progressive Democrat," Cunningham said.

Clark and her supporters say she takes a pragmatic approach. State Sen. Gale Candaras, a Wilbraham Democrat, is vice chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, which Clark chaired. Candaras described Clark as a smart, effective legislator who understands different subjects.

“Ideologically, she is probably a moderate,” Candaras said. “You could have progressive perspectives, but the ways to implement things are sensible.” Candaras said on issues like helping homeless families, Clark looks past idealism to develop practical solutions. “That’s where I think someone like Katherine Clark would shine, in real world, sensible, workable solutions to some of these intransigent social problems we face,” Candaras said.

The impact of any congressman often hinges on committee assignments. Clark said she would most want to serve on committees on Education and the Workforce and Energy and Commerce, though she is also interested in Judiciary.

On education, Clark would push for continued federal funding to states for public education. She wants federal funding to implement universal preschool. She wants to make higher education more affordable, through federal grants and loans. She supports lowering interest rates on government-backed student loans. "I firmly believe, as Elizabeth Warren has been fighting for, we should loan money to students at the same rates or less that we loan to banks," Clark said. (Warren remained neutral in the special election primary, but campaigned with Clark last week.)

On energy, Clark wants to focus on increasing energy efficiency in buildings and transportation. She said Massachusetts already does cutting edge research and development of alternative energy, and she wants to make sure Congress funds that work. She said federal subsidies will remain important for things like developing wind turbines and solar technology. “This is an issue that cuts across partisan lines and can be one where this Congress can come together and make significant progress,” Clark said.

While Republicans generally reject a carbon tax, Clark said she believes there can be a carbon pricing system – for example through rebate incentives or fees – that gets legislative support. “It would send a signal to the market that we’re serious about this and could spur innovation and investment dollars that are critical to developing alternative energy sources,” Clark said.

Asked how she could work with Republicans, Clark said she would like to work on an anti-human trafficking bill sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican, and a bipartisan energy efficiency bill co-sponsored by Rep. David McKinley, a West Virginia Republican. (The energy bill is the House companion to the Senate’s Shaheen-Portman bill, which would require government to be more energy efficient, update building codes to make new construction more efficient and spur investment in and use of new energy-efficient technology.)

Progressive groups did not line up behind Clark during the primary. The Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which endorsed Democratic State Rep. Carl Sciortino, attacked Clark for her work on a bill updating state wiretapping statutes, which critics say gave the police overly broad powers. The group attacked Clark for the Boston Globe's endorsement of her, which said Clark would support a "grand bargain" to trim the federal deficit. Progressives worried she would support cutting Social Security benefits, though Clark said she would not support benefit cuts.

Neil Sroka, a spokesman for the progressive group Democracy for America, which did not endorse in the primary, said progressives noted that Clark hit back on Social Security, making it clear she would not cut benefits. Progressives will be watching whether Clark will lead on these issues. “The proof’s going to be in the pudding on how she votes on key issues like Social Security benefits,” Sroka said.