The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the state. All but one of the districts are named for the counties in which they are located (the "Cape and Islands" district covers Dukes, Nantucket, and parts of Barnstable counties). Senators serve two-year terms, without term limits. The Senate convenes in the Massachusetts State House in Boston, the state capital.
Qualifications
The following are the qualifications to be elected to the Massachusetts Senate:
- Be 18 years of age
- Be a registered voter in Massachusetts
- Be an inhabitant of Massachusetts for five years
- Be a resident of the district when elected
- Receive at least 300 signatures on nomination papers
Recent party control
Democrats hold a supermajority in the Senate.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|- style="vertical-align:bottom;"
! rowspan="3" | Affiliation
! colspan="2" | Party <br /><div style="font-size:80%">(Shading indicates majority caucus)</div>
! rowspan="3" | Total
!
|-style="height:5px"
| style="background-color:" |
| style="background-color:" |
| style="background-color: black;" |
|-
! Democratic
! Republican
! Vacant
|-
! nowrap style="font-size:80%"| Begin 189th (2015–2016)
| rowspan=3 | 34
| rowspan=3 | 6
! rowspan=3 | 40
| rowspan=3 | 0
|-
|-
! nowrap style="font-size:80%"|Begin 190th (2017–2018)
|-
! nowrap style="font-size:80%"|Begin 191st (2019–2020)
|-
! nowrap style="font-size:80%"|Begin 192nd (2021–2022)
| rowspan=2 | 37
| rowspan=2| 3
! 40
| 0
|-
! nowrap style="font-size:80%"|Begin 193rd (2023–2024)
! 40
| 0
|-
!nowrap style="font-size:80%" | End 193rd (2023–2024)
| | 36
| 4
! 40
| 0
|-
|colspan=5|
|-
! nowrap style="font-size:80%"|Begin 194th (2025–2026)
| | 35
| rowspan=2|5
! 40
| 0
|-
! nowrap style="font-size:80%"|October 2, 2025
| | 34
! 39
| 1
|-
!Latest voting share
!|
!
!colspan=2|
|}
Current leadership
Current members and districts
Massachusetts Senate districts are named for the counties that contain a portion of the district ordered by percentage of the district's population that is within that county. If multiple districts would have the same name under this scheme, they are also given an ordinal number. The one exception is "Cape and Islands" which if the naming scheme were followed would be "Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket".
- Berkshire, Hampden, Franklin, and Hampshire
- Bristol and Norfolk
- First Bristol and Plymouth
- Second Bristol and Plymouth
- Third Bristol and Plymouth
- Cape and Islands
- First Essex
- Second Essex
- Third Essex
- First Essex and Middlesex
- Second Essex and Middlesex
- Hampden
- Hampden and Hampshire
- Hampden, Hampshire, and Worcester
- Hampshire, Franklin, and Worcester
- First Middlesex
- Second Middlesex
- Third Middlesex
- Fourth Middlesex
- Fifth Middlesex
- Middlesex and Norfolk
- Middlesex and Suffolk
- Middlesex and Worcester
- Norfolk and Middlesex
- Norfolk and Plymouth
- Norfolk, Plymouth, and Bristol
- Norfolk and Suffolk
- Norfolk, Worcester, and Middlesex
- Plymouth and Barnstable
- First Plymouth and Norfolk
- Second Plymouth and Norfolk
- First Suffolk
- Second Suffolk
- Third Suffolk
- Suffolk and Middlesex
- First Worcester
- Second Worcester
- Worcester and Hampden
- Worcester and Hampshire
- Worcester and Middlesex
Current committees and members
Past composition of the Senate
See also
- 2023–2024 Massachusetts legislature
- List of former districts of the Massachusetts Senate
- List of Massachusetts Senate delegations
- Massachusetts House of Representatives
Notes
References
Further reading
- , 2007
External links
- Senate Members of the General Court official government website
- Official Senate district definitions as of 2021
- 2002
- 2010, with names of senators
- 2011
- State Senate of Massachusetts at Project Vote Smart