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Massachusetts state legislative special elections, 2017

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In 2017, five special elections were called to fill vacant seats in the Massachusetts General Court. All five vacancies were filled.

Senate special elections called:

House special elections called:

How vacancies are filled in Massachusetts


If there is a vacancy in the Massachusetts General Court, a special election must be conducted to fill the vacant seat. The election must be held on the next regularly scheduled date on the election calendar.[1] Local governments that conduct special elections can receive reimbursement from the state treasurer's office for costs incurred.[2][3]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Massachusetts Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 54, § 141 and Massachusetts Const. Amend. Art. 24


About the legislature

The Massachusetts State Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court. There are 40 members. Each member represented an average of 163,691 residents, as of the 2010 Census.[4] After the 2000 Census, each member represented 158,727 residents.[5] Senators are elected in even-numbered years to two-year terms and take office on the first Wednesday in January following the election.

The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court. There are 160 members. Each member represented an average of 40,923 residents, as of the 2010 Census.[6] After the 2000 Census, each member represented approximately 39,682 residents.[7] Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives serve two-year terms and are not subject to term limits.

Partisan breakdown

The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the most recent general elections prior to 2017. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).

Massachusetts House of Representatives
Party As of November 7, 2016 After November 8, 2016
     Democratic Party 125 125
     Republican Party 34 35
     Vacancy 1 0
Total 160 160
Massachusetts State Senate
Party As of November 7, 2016 After November 8, 2016
     Democratic Party 34 34
     Republican Party 6 6
Total 40 40

Special elections

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July 25, 2017

October 17, 2017

November 7, 2017

December 5, 2017

Special elections throughout the country

See also: State legislative special elections, 2017

Between 2011 and 2016, an average of 70 special elections took place each year. A total of 25 states use special elections to fill legislative vacancies. In two other states—Illinois and Indiana—special elections are used in limited circumstances. The rest of the states fill vacancies either through appointments made by the governor of the state or by a commission made up of officials from the former member's party. In 2017, 98 state legislative seats were filled through special elections.

Breakdown of 2017 special elections

In 2017, special elections for state legislative positions were held for a variety of reasons:

  • 46 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
  • 1 due to an ineligible general election candidate
  • 15 due to the incumbent accepting another job
  • 22 due to a retirement
  • 15 due to a death

The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:

Impact of special elections on partisan composition

The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election. The number on the left reflects how many vacant seats were originally held by each party, while the number on the right shows how many vacant seats each party won in the special elections. It is not typical to see significant net changes in overall state legislative party composition because of special elections. In elections between 2011 and 2016, one party (either Republicans or Democrats) saw an average net gain of three seats across the country, although actual races won and lost by each party varied more. For instance, in 2015, Democrats lost nine seats to Republicans but won six different seats in other races, resulting in a net loss of three seats.

Note: This table reflects information for elections that were held and not total vacant seats.

Partisan Change from Special Elections
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 45 56
     Republican Party 53 42
     Independent - -
Total 98 98

Flipped seats

In total, 17 state legislative seats flipped party control in 2017. Democrats flipped 14 seats and Republicans flipped three seats as a result of special state legislative elections in 2017.

Seats flipped from D to R

Seats flipped from R to D

See also


Footnotes

  1. ↑ Massachusetts General Court, "General Laws," accessed February 12, 2021 (Section Chapter 50, Section 6A)
  2. ↑ Massachusetts General Court, "General Laws," accessed February 12, 2021 (Section Chapter 3: Section 10A)
  3. ↑ Massachusetts General Court, "General Laws," accessed February 12, 2021 (Section Chapter 54: Section 141)
  4. ↑ U.S. Census Bureau, "Population Distribution and Change: 2000 to 2010," April 2011
  5. ↑ U.S. Census Bureau, "States Ranked by Population," April 2, 2001
  6. ↑ U.S. Census Bureau, "Population Distribution and Change: 2000 to 2010," April 2011
  7. ↑ U.S. Census Bureau, "States Ranked by Population," April 2, 2001
  8. ↑ Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Special State Election Fourth Middlesex Senatorial District," accessed April 28, 2017
  9. ↑ Patch.com, "Sen. Kenneth Donnelly Dies at 66," accessed April 3, 2017
  10. ↑ Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "4th Middlesex Senate general election results," accessed July 31, 2017
  11. ↑ Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "4th Middlesex Senate primary election results," accessed July 31, 2017
  12. ↑ Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Special State Election Bristol & Norfolk Senatorial District," accessed May 25, 2017
  13. ↑ Boston Herald, "State Sen. James Timilty quits Senate for $124G Norfolk post," accessed April 17, 2017
  14. ↑ The Sun Chronicle, "State rep clashes with senate candidate," August 14, 2017
  15. ↑ U.S. News, "Democrat Paul Feeney Wins State Senate Special Election," October 17, 2017
  16. ↑ Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Special State Election First Berkshire Representative District," accessed June 29, 2017
  17. ↑ The Berkshire Eagle, "DeLeo: House still mourning, plans pending for election to replace Rep. Gailanne Cariddi," June 19, 2017
  18. ↑ Candidates were compiled in communication with the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on September 6, 2017
  19. ↑ MASS Dems, "Massachusetts Democrats Celebrate Barrett Primary Win," accessed October 10, 2017
  20. ↑ Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Special State Election 3rd Essex Representative District," accessed July 20, 2017
  21. ↑ Boston Globe, "Dempsey gives farewell address on Beacon Hill," July 19, 2017
  22. ↑ Candidates were compiled in communication with the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on September 6, 2017
  23. ↑ Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Special State Election Worcester & Middlesex Senatorial District," accessed August 30, 2017
  24. ↑ Sentinel and Enterprise, "Sen. Jennifer Flanagan to resign seat to become Cannabis Control Commission member," August 23, 2017
  25. ↑ Telegram, "6 in running to replace former Sen. Jennifer Flanagan," September 30, 2017
  26. ↑ Sentinel and Enterprise, "Leominster's Chalifoux Zephir heads to special election for Senate seat after beating Dem opponents in primary," November 8, 2017
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