Massachusetts state legislative special elections, 2026

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

Click here to read more about the special elections.

Senate special elections called:

• 1st Middlesex District: March 3

House special elections called:

• 5th Essex District: March 31

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. Local governments that conduct special elections can receive reimbursement from the state treasurer's office for costs incurred.

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

About the legislature

The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled, The Great and General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the Colonial Era, when this body also sat in judgment of judicial appeals cases. Before the adoption of the state constitution in 1780, it was called the "Great and General Court," but the official title was shortened by John Adams, author of the constitution. It is a bicameral body. The upper house is the Massachusetts State Senate which is composed of 40 members. The lower body, the Massachusetts House of Representatives, has 160 members. Before 1978, it had 240 members. The General Court was established in 1630 when the Massachusetts Bay Colony obtained a new charter. It meets in the Massachusetts State House in Boston, Massachusetts.

The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the most recent general elections prior to 2026. 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:

March 3, 2026

Massachusetts State Senate 1st Middlesex District

See also: Massachusetts state legislative special elections, 2026 A special election for Massachusetts State Senate 1st Middlesex District has been called for March 3, 2026. A primary is scheduled to take place on February 3, 2026. The candidate filing deadline was December 23, 2025. The seat became vacant on October 1, 2025, after Edward Kennedy (D) died on October 1, 2025. There are no official candidates yet for this election. General election The general election will occur on March 3, 2026.

March 31, 2026

Massachusetts House of Representatives 5th Essex District

See also: Massachusetts state legislative special elections, 2026 A special election for Massachusetts House of Representatives 5th Essex District has been called for March 31, 2026. A primary is scheduled to take place on March 3, 2026. The candidate filing deadline is January 20, 2026. The seat became vacant after Ann-Margaret Ferrante (D) died on November 27, 2025. There are no official candidates yet for this election.

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, 2026

As of December 2025, 40 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2026 in 19 states. Between 2011 and 2024, an average of 70 special elections took place each year.

Breakdown of 2026 special elections

In 2026, special elections for state legislative positions are being held for the following reasons:

• 20 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
• 16 due to resignation
• 4 due to the death of the incumbent

Impact of special elections on partisan composition

The partisan breakdown for the special elections is as follows:

• 23 Democratic seats
• 17 Republican seats

As of December 24th, 2025, Republicans controlled 55.38% of all state legislative seats nationally, while Democrats held 43.46%. 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			Other	Vacant
State senates	828	1,121	6	18
State houses	2,382	2,969	21	41
Total:	3,210	4,090	27	59

The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2026. 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 (2026)
Party		As of Special Election	After Special Election
	Democratic Party	23	0
	Republican Party	17	1
	Independent	0	0
Total		40	1

Flipped seats

In 2026, as of December, no seats flipped as a result of state legislative special elections.

See also

• State legislative special elections, 2026
• State legislative special elections, 2025
• State legislative special elections, 2024
• State legislative special elections, 2023
• Massachusetts General Court

Footnotes

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2026

State legislative elections (2026) • State legislative special elections (2026) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2026 Session Dates

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Features of state legislatures

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