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Massachusetts state legislative special elections, 2025

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As of September, two special elections have been called to fill vacant seats in the Massachusetts General Court.

Click here to read more about the special elections.

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 General Court is the state legislature of Massachusetts. It is a bicameral body composed of the lower Massachusetts House of Representatives and the upper Massachusetts State Senate.

The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the most recent general elections prior to 2025. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).

Massachusetts State Senate
Party As of November 5, 2024 After November 6, 2024
     Democratic Party 36 35
     Republican Party 4 5
Total 40 40


Massachusetts House of Representatives
Party As of November 5, 2024 After November 6, 2024
     Democratic Party 132 133
     Republican Party 24 25
     Independent 1 0
     Vacancy 3 1
Total 160 160

Special elections

Click [show] to the right of the district name for more information:

May 13, 2025

June 10, 2025

Historical data

There were 1,007 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2024. Massachusetts held 52 special elections during the same time period. The largest number of special elections in Massachusetts took place in 2013 when eight special elections were held.

The table below details how many state legislative special elections were held in a state in a given year.

Special elections throughout the country

See also: State legislative special elections, 2025

As of September 2025, 87 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2025 in 22 states. One special election has also been called to fill a vacancy in the Puerto Rico House of Representatives. Between 2011 and 2024, an average of 70 special elections took place each year.

Breakdown of 2025 special elections

In 2025, special elections for state legislative positions are being held for the following reasons:

  • 37 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
  • 23 due to resignation
  • 14 due to redistricting
  • 13 due to the death of the incumbent
  • 1 due to the officeholder leaving at term end


Impact of special elections on partisan composition

The partisan breakdown for the special elections is as follows:

As of September 13th, 2025, Republicans controlled 55.51% of all state legislative seats nationally, while Democrats held 43.66%. Republicans held a majority in 57 chambers, and Democrats held the majority in 39 chambers. Two chambers (Alaska House and Alaska Senate) were organized under multipartisan, power-sharing coalitions. One chamber (Minnesota House of Representatives) was split evenly between both parties.

Partisan balance of all 7,386 state legislative seats
Legislative chamber Democratic Party Republican Party Grey.png Other Vacant
State senates 833 1,122 5 13
State houses 2,392 2,978 20 23
Total: 3,225

4,100

25

36


The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2025. 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.

Note: This table reflects information for elections that have been held and not the total number of vacant seats.

Partisan Change from Special Elections (2025)
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 47 25
     Republican Party 40 19
     Independent 0 1
Total 87 45

Flipped seats

In 2025, as of August 26, four seats have changed party hands as a result of state legislative special elections.


Seats that changed from D to I

Seats that changed 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. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Special Election Called in 6th Essex State Rep. District," accessed February 10, 2025
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Taunton Massachusetts, "Special Election for 3rd Bristol State Representative District," accessed March 17, 2025
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