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Elections in Massachusetts |
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Massachusettsportal |
The 2026 United States Senate election in Massachusetts will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Incumbent two-term Democratic Senator Ed Markey, was re-elected in 2020 with 66.2% of the vote and is running for re-election to a third full term. Markey, dean of New England's congressional delegation and the longest-serving Democrat in Congress having served since 1976, will be 80 years old on election day. If reelected, Markey, the ninth oldest member of the Senate, would be older than any candidate ever elected to the United States Senate from Massachusetts in the history of the Commonwealth upon being sworn in. Massachusetts is one of only fifteen states to have an older junior senator and a younger senior senator.
In 2020, Markey faced a competitive primary for the Democratic nomination from Kennedy Family scion Joe Kennedy III, who sought to cast the then-74-year-old Markey as someone out of touch after spending decades in Congress, first in the U.S. House of Representatives before moving on to the Senate. [1] Kennedy lost the primary by roughly ten percentage points; an elected senator has not been defeated in a primary since Richard Lugar in 2012, and an elected Democrat has not been defeated in a primary since Joe Lieberman in 2006. A recent poll found a majority of Massachusetts voters think 78-year-old Markey is too old to serve. [2]
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [a] | Margin of error | Charlie Baker | Ed Markey | Other | Undecided |
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MassINC Polling | October 29 – November 1, 2024 | 582 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 40% | 34% | 3% | 19% |
Edward John Markey is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Massachusetts since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served 20 terms as the U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 7th congressional district from 1976 to 2013. Before his congressional career, he was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1973 to 1976.
The 1984 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held on November 6, to elect a member of the U.S. Senate from the State of Massachusetts. The election was won by Democrat John Kerry, the Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, who remained Senator until 2013, when he resigned to become United States Secretary of State. One-term incumbent Democratic Senator Paul Tsongas declined to seek re-election after developing cancer.
In U.S. politics, a primary challenge is when an incumbent holding elective office is challenged by a member of their own political party in a primary election. Such events, known informally as "being primaried," are noteworthy and not frequent in the United States, as traditionally political parties support incumbents, both for party unity and to minimize the possibility of losing the seat to an opposing party. In addition, officeholders are frequently seen as de facto leaders of their party, eligible to establish policy and administer affairs as they see fit. A primary challenge thus interferes with this "spoil of office," and is largely discouraged. Though typically used to describe challenges to elected officials, the term is also applied to officeholders such as appointed U.S. senators.
The 2006 Massachusetts general election was held on November 7, 2006, throughout Massachusetts.
The 2008 United States Senate election in Massachusetts took place on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator John Kerry, who remained in the Senate after losing the presidency to incumbent President George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election, won re-election to a fifth term in office. Kerry later resigned his seat in 2013 to become Secretary of State under the Obama administration.
The United States Senate election of 1978 in Massachusetts was held on November 7, 1978, with the incumbent Republican Senator Edward Brooke being defeated by Democratic Congressman Paul Tsongas.
The Massachusetts general election, 2008 were held on November 4, 2008 throughout Massachusetts. Among the elections which took place were those for the office of President of the United States, John Kerry's seat in the Senate, all ten seats in the Massachusetts delegation to the House of Representatives, all eight seats in the Massachusetts Governor's Council, and all of the seats of the Massachusetts Senate and Massachusetts House of Representatives. There were also three ballot questions: to eliminate the commonwealth's income tax; to decriminalize possession of a small amount of marijuana; and to prohibit greyhound racing. Numerous local elections also took place throughout the state.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is often categorized politically as progressive and liberal. All of the state’s U.S. representatives and senators are Democrats. Democrats also form the large majority of the state’s legislature, though the state has a history of electing Republican governors. As with most states, the two main political parties are the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.
The 1926 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts was held on November 2, 1926.
The 1916 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held on November 7, 1916. Republican incumbent Henry Cabot Lodge defeated Democratic Mayor of Boston John F. Fitzgerald to win election to a fifth term.
The 2014 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, concurrently with the election of the Governor of Massachusetts, other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 2013 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 5, 2013. This off-year election cycle featured several special elections to the United States Congress; two gubernatorial races; state legislative elections in a few states; and numerous citizen initiatives, mayoral races, and a variety of other local offices on the ballot.
Joseph Patrick Kennedy III is an American politician and diplomat who most recently served as the United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland from 2022 to 2024. Prior to this, Kennedy served as the U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 4th congressional district from 2013 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented a district that extends from Boston's western suburbs to the state's South Coast. He worked as an assistant district attorney in the Cape and Islands and Middlesex County, Massachusetts, offices before his election to Congress. In January 2021, he became a CNN commentator.
The 2013 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts was held on June 25, 2013, in order to fill the Massachusetts Class 2 United States Senate seat for the remainder of the term ending January 3, 2015.
The 2018 Massachusetts gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Republican governor Charlie Baker and lieutenant governor Karyn Polito sought reelection to a second term in office, facing Democratic challengers Jay Gonzalez and Quentin Palfrey, respectively. Candidates were selected in the primary election held on September 4, 2018.
The 2020 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate in other states, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections. On September 1, incumbent senator Ed Markey defeated U.S. Representative Joe Kennedy III in a competitive primary for the Democratic nomination, and Kevin O'Connor defeated Shiva Ayyadurai for the Republican nomination. Markey went on to win the general election with 66.2% of the vote, and was thus re-elected to a second full term in a landslide.
The 2018 Massachusetts general election was held on November 6, 2018, throughout Massachusetts. Primary elections took place on September 4. Early voting took place from October 22 through November 2.
The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts were held on November 3, 2020, to elect the nine U.S. representatives from the state of Massachusetts, one from each of the state's nine congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. Primary elections were held on September 1.
The 1946 Massachusetts general election was held on November 5, 1946, throughout Massachusetts. Primary elections took place on June 18.
The 2026 United States Senate elections are scheduled to be held on November 3, 2026, with 33 of the 100 seats in the Senate being contested in regular elections, the winners of which will serve six-year terms in the United States Congress from January 3, 2027, to January 3, 2033. Senators are divided into three groups, or classes, whose terms are staggered so that a different class is elected every two years. Class 2 senators were last elected in 2020 and will be up for election in this cycle.