Brendan Crighton

Brendan Crighton

Democratic Party

Massachusetts State Senate 3rd Essex District

Tenure

2018 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

7

Prior offices

Massachusetts House of Representatives 11th Essex District

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Compensation

Base salary

$73,655.01/year

Per diem

$No per diem is paid.

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Contact

Official website

Campaign Facebook

Personal Facebook

Personal Instagram

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Personal LinkedIn

Brendan Crighton (Democratic Party) is a member of the Massachusetts State Senate, representing the 3rd Essex District. He assumed office on March 7, 2018. His current term ends on January 6, 2027.

Crighton (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Massachusetts State Senate to represent the 3rd Essex District. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023-2024

Crighton was assigned to the following committees:

• Senate Ethics Committee
• Senate Committee on Juvenile and Emerging Adult Justice, Chair
• Personnel and Administration Committee, Vice Chair
• Senate Rules Committee
• Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery Joint Committee
• Rules Joint Committee
• Transportation Joint Committee, Chair

2021-2022

Crighton was assigned to the following committees:

• Intergovernmental Affairs Committee
• Personnel and Administration Committee, Vice chair
• Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities Joint Committee
• Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Joint Committee
• Financial Services Joint Committee, Senate chair
• Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery Joint Committee
• Revenue Joint Committee, Senate vice chair

2019-2020

Crighton was assigned to the following committees:

• Election Laws Joint Committee
• Housing Joint Committee, Chair
• Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Joint Committee, Vice Chair
• Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities Joint Committee
• Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery Joint Committee
• Public Health Joint Committee
• Personnel and Administration Committee

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Massachusetts committee assignments, 2017
• Community Development and Small Businesses Joint
• Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Joint
• Public Health Joint
• Revenue Joint

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Crighton served on the following committees:

Massachusetts committee assignments, 2015
• Post Audit and Oversight
• Community Development and Small Businesses Joint
• Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Joint
• Public Health Joint

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2024

See also: Massachusetts State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for Massachusetts State Senate 3rd Essex District

Incumbent Brendan Crighton won election in the general election for Massachusetts State Senate 3rd Essex District on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brendan Crighton (D)	97.8	56,430
		Other/Write-in votes	2.2	1,277

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 57,707
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate 3rd Essex District

Incumbent Brendan Crighton advanced from the Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate 3rd Essex District on September 3, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brendan Crighton	99.2	11,524
		Other/Write-in votes	0.8	89

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,613
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Crighton in this election.

2022

See also: Massachusetts State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for Massachusetts State Senate 3rd Essex District

Incumbent Brendan Crighton defeated Annalisa Sulustri in the general election for Massachusetts State Senate 3rd Essex District on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brendan Crighton (D)	71.0	34,620
	Submit photo	Annalisa Sulustri (Independent)	28.5	13,910
		Other/Write-in votes	0.4	205

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 48,735
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate 3rd Essex District

Incumbent Brendan Crighton advanced from the Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate 3rd Essex District on September 6, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brendan Crighton	99.5	15,269
		Other/Write-in votes	0.5	82

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 15,351
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2020

See also: Massachusetts State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Massachusetts State Senate 3rd Essex District

Incumbent Brendan Crighton won election in the general election for Massachusetts State Senate 3rd Essex District on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brendan Crighton (D)	97.0	62,381
		Other/Write-in votes	3.0	1,912

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 64,293
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate 3rd Essex District

Incumbent Brendan Crighton advanced from the Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate 3rd Essex District on September 1, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brendan Crighton	99.3	25,226
		Other/Write-in votes	0.7	169

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 25,395
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2018

General election

General election for Massachusetts State Senate 3rd Essex District

Incumbent Brendan Crighton won election in the general election for Massachusetts State Senate 3rd Essex District on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brendan Crighton (D)	98.8	47,179
		Other/Write-in votes	1.2	566

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 47,745
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate 3rd Essex District

Incumbent Brendan Crighton advanced from the Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate 3rd Essex District on September 4, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brendan Crighton	100.0	10,526

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 10,526
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Special

See also: Massachusetts state legislative special elections, 2018

A special election for the office of Massachusetts State Senate Third Essex District was held on March 6, 2018. The primary election took place on February 6, 2018. Candidates had until December 26, 2017, to turn in nomination papers with local officials. Certified nomination papers had to be filed with the secretary of state by January 2, 2018.

In November 2017, state Sen. Thomas McGee (D) announced that he would resign from the state Senate effective January 2, 2018, in order to become the mayor of Lynn.

State Rep. Brendan Crighton (D) was the only candidate to file in the race. He faced no competition in the Democratic primary and was unopposed in the general election as well.

2016

See also: Massachusetts House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for the Massachusetts House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on September 8, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 7, 2016.

Incumbent Brendan Crighton ran unopposed in the Massachusetts House of Representatives Eleventh Essex District general election.

Massachusetts House of Representatives, Eleventh Essex District General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Democratic	Brendan Crighton Incumbent (unopposed)
Source: Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth

Incumbent Brendan Crighton ran unopposed in the Massachusetts House of Representatives Eleventh Essex District Democratic Primary.

Massachusetts House of Representatives, Eleventh Essex District Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Democratic	Brendan Crighton Incumbent (unopposed)

2014

See also: Massachusetts House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for the Massachusetts House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election was held on September 9, 2014, and a general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 3, 2014. Brendan Crighton defeated Charlie Gallo and Aikaterini Panagiotakis Koudanis in the Democratic primary and was unopposed in the general election.

Massachusetts House of Representatives, Eleventh Essex District Democratic Primary, 2014

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Brendan Crighton	59.3%	2,370
Charlie Gallo	34.9%	1,396
Aikaterini Panagiotakis Koudanis	5.7%	229
Total Votes		3,995

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Brendan Crighton did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Brendan Crighton did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Brendan Crighton did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Brendan Crighton campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Massachusetts State Senate 3rd Essex District	Won general	$77,273	$0
2022	Massachusetts State Senate 3rd Essex District	Won general	$167,180	$0
2020	Massachusetts State Senate 3rd Essex District	Won general	$54,569	N/A**
2016	Massachusetts House of Representatives, District Eleventh Essex	Won	$52,969	N/A**
2014	Massachusetts House of Representatives, District Eleventh Essex	Won	$61,147	N/A**
Grand total			$413,138	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Massachusetts

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Massachusetts scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

2024

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show].

In 2024, the Massachusetts State Legislature was in session from January 3 to December 31. Formal session ended on July 31, 2024 and an informal session was convened from August 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024. Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance Legislators are scored on bills of interest to an organization that pledges "to make government more transparent, make fiscally responsible choices, and to hold the line on taxes." Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Legislators are scored on their sponsorship of legislation related to animal issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Progressive Massachusetts Legislators are scored by the organization on votes that "can show the distinction between a progressive legislator, and everyone else."

2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].
In 2023, the Massachusetts State Legislature was in session from January 4 to November 15. Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance Legislators are scored on bills of interest to an organization that pledges "to make government more transparent, make fiscally responsible choices, and to hold the line on taxes." The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2022

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show].

In 2022, the Massachusetts State Legislature was in session from January 5 to August 1. Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance Legislators are scored on bills of interest to an organization that pledges "to make government more transparent, make fiscally responsible choices, and to hold the line on taxes." Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Legislators are scored on their sponsorship of legislation related to animal issues. Progressive Massachusetts Legislators are scored by the organization on votes that "can show the distinction between a progressive legislator, and everyone else." National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].

In 2021, the Massachusetts State Legislature was in session from January 6 to January 4. Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance Legislators are scored on bills of interest to an organization that pledges "to make government more transparent, make fiscally responsible choices, and to hold the line on taxes." Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Legislators are scored on their sponsorship of legislation related to animal issues. Progressive Massachusetts Legislators are scored by the organization on votes that "can show the distinction between a progressive legislator, and everyone else." The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2020

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show].

In 2020, the Massachusetts State Legislature was in session from January 1 to January 5. Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance Legislators are scored on bills of interest to an organization that pledges "to make government more transparent, make fiscally responsible choices, and to hold the line on taxes." Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group Legislators are scored on their votes on public interest issues. Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Legislators are scored on their sponsorship of legislation related to animal issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Progressive Massachusetts Legislators are scored by the organization on votes that "can show the distinction between a progressive legislator, and everyone else." The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2019

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show].

In 2019, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 2 through December 31. Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance Legislators are scored on bills of interest to an organization that pledges "to make government more transparent, make fiscally responsible choices, and to hold the line on taxes." Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Legislators are scored on their sponsorship of legislation related to animal issues. Progressive Massachusetts Legislators are scored by the organization on votes that "can show the distinction between a progressive legislator, and everyone else." The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2018

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show].

In 2018, the Massachusetts General Court was in formal session from January 3 to July 31. The legislature was in informal session from August 1 to December 31. Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance Legislators are scored on bills of interest to an organization that pledges "to make government more transparent, make fiscally responsible choices, and to hold the line on taxes." Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Legislators are scored on their sponsorship of legislation related to animal issues. Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to reproductive health issues. Progressive Massachusetts Legislators are scored by the organization on votes that "can show the distinction between a progressive legislator, and everyone else." The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2017

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show].

In 2017, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 4 through November 15. The legislature held an informal session from November 16 to January 2. Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance Legislators are scored on bills of interest to an organization that pledges "to make government more transparent, make fiscally responsible choices, and to hold the line on taxes." Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Legislators are scored on their sponsorship of legislation related to animal issues. Progressive Massachusetts Legislators are scored by the organization on votes that "can show the distinction between a progressive legislator, and everyone else." The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2016

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show].

In 2016, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 6 through July 31. Associated Industries of Massachusetts Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Gun Owners Action League: Senate and House Legislators are scored on bills related to firearms policy. Mass Audubon Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues. Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance Legislators are scored on bills of interest to an organization that pledges "to make government more transparent, make fiscally responsible choices, and to hold the line on taxes." Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Legislators are scored on their sponsorship of legislation related to animal issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Progressive Massachusetts: Senate and House Legislators are scored by the organization on votes that "can show the distinction between a progressive legislator, and everyone else." The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. The Environmental League of Massachusetts: Senate and House Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.

2015

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show].

In 2015, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 7, 2015, through January 5, 2016. Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance Legislators are scored on bills of interest to an organization that pledges "to make government more transparent, make fiscally responsible choices, and to hold the line on taxes." Planned Parenthood: House and Senate Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

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Massachusetts State Senate 3rd Essex District

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	Massachusetts State Senate 3rd Essex District 2018-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	Massachusetts House of Representatives 11th Essex District 2015-2018	Succeeded by -

[show]

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Vacant

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Democratic Party (34)

Republican Party (5)

Vacancies (1)