2026 Massachusetts elections

2026 Massachusetts elections
November 3, 2026 (2026-11-03)

Elections will be held in the U.S. state of Massachusetts in 2026 as part of the 2026 United States elections. At the federal level, elections will be held for a U.S. Senate seat and for each of Massachusetts' 9 U.S. House of Representative districts. At the state level, elections will be held for the Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Treasurer, and State Auditor. Elections will also be held for the General Court (state senate and state house) and the Governor's Council. Primaries will be held on September 1, 2026 and general elections will be held on November 3, 2026.[1][2]

Federal offices

U.S. Senate

Main article: 2026 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

An election for Massachusetts's Class 2 Senate seat will be held on November 3, 2026. Incumbent Democrat Ed Markey is running for reelection. He faces a primary challenge from fellow Democrat Seth Moulton, a U.S. representative from Massachusetts's 6th congressional district. Moulton has criticized the incumbent for running for reelection at his age (Markey will be 80 while Moulton will be 48 on election day).[3] On the Republican side, John Deaton is making another bid after previously running against Elizabeth Warren as the Republican nominee in 2024.[4]

U.S. House of Representatives

Main article: 2026 United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts

Elections for Massachusetts's nine seats in the House of Representatives will be held on November 3, 2026. In 2024, Democrats won all nine seats, with all incumbents being re-elected. Primaries will be held on September 1.[2]

This section is an excerpt from 2026 United States House of Representatives elections § Massachusetts.[edit]
District Incumbent Candidates
Location 2025
PVI[5] 		Member Party First
elected 		Status
Massachusetts 1 D+8 Richard Neal Democratic 1988 Incumbent running
Massachusetts 2 D+13 Jim McGovern Democratic 1996 Incumbent's intent unknown
  • TBD
Massachusetts 3 D+11 Lori Trahan Democratic 2018 Incumbent running
Massachusetts 4 D+11 Jake Auchincloss Democratic 2020 Incumbent running
Massachusetts 5 D+24 Katherine Clark Democratic 2013 (special) Incumbent's intent unknown
  • Jonathan Paz (Democratic)[13]
  • Tarik Samman (Democratic)[14]
Massachusetts 6 D+11 Seth Moulton Democratic 2014 Incumbent retiring to run for U.S. Senate[15]
Massachusetts 7 D+34 Ayanna Pressley Democratic 2018 Incumbent running
Massachusetts 8 D+15 Stephen Lynch Democratic 2001 (special) Incumbent running
Massachusetts 9 D+6 Bill Keating Democratic 2010 Incumbent's intent unknown
  • Tyler MacAllister (Republican)[26]
  • Craig Swallow (Democratic)[27]

State offices

Governor

Main article: 2026 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

Incumbent Democratic governor Maura Healey and lieutenant governor Kim Driscoll are running for reelection.[28] They were first elected in 2022 with 63.74% of the vote.[29]

Mike Kennealy, Michael Minogue, and Brian Shortsleeve are seeking the Republican nomination to challenge the incumbent.[28]

Attorney General

Main article: 2026 Massachusetts Attorney General election

Incumbent Democratic attorney general Andrea Campbell is running for reelection.[30] Campbell won 62.85% of the vote in 2022.[31]

Secretary of the Commonwealth

Main article: 2026 Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth election

Incumbent Democratic secretary of the commonwealth William F. Galvin is running for reelection to a 9th term.[32] Galvin won 67.69% of the vote in 2022.[33]

Treasurer and Receiver-General

Main article: 2026 Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver-General election

Incumbent Democratic treasurer Deb Goldberg is running for reelection.[34] Goldberg won 76.47% of the vote in 2022, facing only third-party opposition.[35]

State Auditor

Main article: 2026 Massachusetts State Auditor election

Incumbent Democratic auditor Diana DiZoglio is running for reelection.[36] DiZoglio won 55.1% of the vote in 2022.[37]

Governor's Council

All 8 seats on the Massachusetts Governor's Council are up for election.[38] In 2024, Democrats won all 8 seats.[39]

State legislature

Massachusetts Senate

Main article: 2026 Massachusetts Senate election

Elections for the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court will be held on November 3, 2026. All 40 Senate seats will be up for election. Democrats retained their supermajority in the chamber in 2024.[40]

Massachusetts House of Representatives

Main article: 2026 Massachusetts House of Representatives election

Elections for the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court will be held on November 3, 2026. All 160 House of Representatives seats will be up for election. Democrats retained their supermajority in the chamber in 2024.[41]

Ballot questions

Rent control

Main article: Rent control in Massachusetts

A ballot proposal to re-institute rent control is scheduled to appear on the 2026 Massachusetts ballot.[a] If adopted, it would become one of the strictest rent control measures in the country.[44][43] Unlike the previous version of rent control, in which individual cities and towns could choose whether or not they wanted to have rent control, this measure would cap rent increases at the rate of inflation, or 5% a year, whichever is lower, across the entire Commonwealth.[44][43][45]

As a result of the issue being put on the ballot, funding was pulled for multiple housing projects representing thousands of new units, with funding flowing instead to projects in other states without rent control.[45] In March 2026, National Real Estate Advisors, who had previously invested billions of dollars in Massachusetts over the prior 20 years, announced that they would be stop investing in Massachusetts because of the prospect of rent control returning.[46]

A poll conducted by Suffolk University in November 2025 found 62.6% of all respondents supported capping rent increases, with 30.6% opposed.[47] A poll in February 2026 found 56% in favor and 26% opposed.[48] Governor Maura Healey opposes the ballot measure, saying that if “you look at the studies, you effectively halt production” with rent control.[49]

Notes

  1. ^ In September 2025, Attorney General Andrea Campbell verified a ballot petition to implement rent control across the state, allowing supporters to collect nearly 75,000 signatures to put the measure on the ballot.[42] In November 2025, supporters claimed they collected enough signatures to move it forward in the process.[43]

References

  1. ^ "Massachusetts elections, 2026". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 24, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "2026 State Primary Election Dates". www.ncsl.org. Retrieved December 24, 2025.
  3. ^ Manchester, Julia (October 19, 2015). "Moulton tests age as campaign issue with Markey challenge". The Hill. Retrieved February 26, 2026.
  4. ^ Klein, Asher (November 11, 2025). "Republican John Deaton announces second straight U.S. Senate run". NBC10 Boston. Retrieved February 26, 2026.
  5. ^ "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)". The Cook Political Report. April 3, 2025. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  6. ^ Solender, Andrew (May 14, 2025). "Scoop: House Democrats' oldest members mostly running again despite youth revolt". Axios. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  7. ^ Garrity, Kelly (August 20, 2025). "The teacher taking on Rep. Richard Neal". Politico. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  8. ^ "Trahan faces possible primary challenge". www.cnhi.com. March 1, 2026. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  9. ^ Currier, Peter (January 11, 2026). "'People do feel betrayed': Trahan talks tumultuous 2025, hopes for 2026". Lowell Sun. Retrieved January 24, 2026.
  10. ^ Katcher, Will (September 17, 2025). "Mass. Rep. Jake Auchincloss will not challenge US Sen. Markey". Yahoo! News. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  11. ^ Nesi, Ted. "Ihssane Leckey will challenge Auchincloss in second bid for 4th District seat". WPRI-TV. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  12. ^ Nesi, Ted (November 12, 2025). "Mystery poll spurs speculation about Auchincloss primary opponents in 2026". WPRI-TV. Retrieved November 12, 2025.
  13. ^ Vakil, Caroline (December 15, 2025). "Katherine Clark, No. 2 House Democrat, gets progressive primary challenger". The Hill. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
  14. ^ Rios, Simón (January 2, 2026). "Rep. Clark faces dual primary challenges from the left". WBUR. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  15. ^ Garrity, Kelly (October 15, 2025). "Seth Moulton to seek Massachusetts Senate seat held by Ed Markey in generational fight". Politico. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  16. ^ Gross, Samantha J. (July 17, 2025). "Representative Seth Moulton draws a primary challenge after criticism over trans athlete remarks". Boston Globe. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
  17. ^ Brodey, Sam (October 21, 2025). "Financial technology industry veteran is latest to enter Democratic primary for Moulton's seat". Boston Globe. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  18. ^ a b Garrity, Kelly (October 16, 2025). "The down-ballot scramble is on". Politico. Retrieved October 16, 2025.
  19. ^ Cullen, Kevin. "Longtime aide to Moulton will run for Congress". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on November 12, 2025. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  20. ^ Wade, Christian M. (February 5, 2026). "Congressional race draws GOP challenger". The Daily News of Newburyport. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  21. ^ Garrity, Kelly (January 5, 2026). "Another candidate enters the MA-06 race". Politico. Retrieved January 5, 2026.
  22. ^ Garrity, Kelly (October 23, 2025). "The Working Families Party arrives". Politico. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  23. ^ Jopan, Tai; Brodey, Sam (December 2, 2025). "Pressley won't challenge Markey, will run for re-election". The Boston Globe. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  24. ^ Solender, Andrew (July 31, 2025). "Democrats' big age headache is becoming a migraine". Axios. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  25. ^ Huynh, Anjali (May 7, 2025). "Patrick Roath, voting rights attorney, will challenge Stephen Lynch in Democratic primary for Congress". The Boston Globe. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
  26. ^ Natanawan, Grace Ann. "Mattapoisett Select Board member announces congressional campaign". Sippican the Week Today. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  27. ^ Cullen, Margie (January 28, 2026). "New Bedford activist to challenge Rep. Bill Keating: What to know". SouthCoastToday.com. Retrieved January 28, 2026.
  28. ^ a b Scalese, Roberto (October 17, 2025). "Here's who's running for Mass. governor in 2026". WBUR-FM. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  29. ^ "2022 Governor General Election". Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  30. ^ Fortin, Matt (October 21, 2025). "Mass. AG Andrea Joy Campbell announces reelection campaign". NBC10 Boston. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  31. ^ "2022 Attorney General General Election". Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  32. ^ Stout, Matt (February 4, 2026). "Bill Galvin, already Massachusetts' longest-serving secretary of state, says he will seek a record ninth term". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  33. ^ "2022 Secretary of the Commonwealth General Election". Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  34. ^ DeForge, Jeanette (September 13, 2025). "Notes from Democratic state convention in Springfield: Goldberg to run again". MassLive. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  35. ^ "2022 Treasurer General Election". Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  36. ^ Gross, Samantha J. (February 17, 2026). "After taking Democratic leaders to court, state Auditor Diana DiZoglio announces reelection bid". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  37. ^ "2022 Auditor General Election". Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  38. ^ "Massachusetts Governor's Council election, 2026". Ballotpedia. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  39. ^ "2024 Massachusetts General Election Results". The Enterprise. February 11, 2025. Retrieved March 5, 2026.
  40. ^ "Massachusetts State Senate elections, 2024". Ballotpedia. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  41. ^ "Massachusetts House of Representatives elections, 2024". Ballotpedia. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  42. ^ Stout, Matt (September 3, 2025). "In 'record-breaking' year, Mass. attorney general approves 44 ballot proposals, including one restoring rent control". The Boston Globe. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  43. ^ a b c Brinker, Andrew (November 18, 2025). "Rent control backers say they're on track to go before voters next year". The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  44. ^ a b Brinker, Andrew (August 6, 2025). "Fight to restore rent control in Mass. could soon land at the ballot box". The Boston Globe. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  45. ^ a b DeCosta-Klipa, Nik (March 12, 2026). "Gov. Healey says proposed rent control ballot question is already having an effect on Massachusetts". WBUR. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  46. ^ Leung, Shirley (March 2, 2026). "He's invested billions in Boston. Now one big real estate investor is hitting the brakes. Here's why". The Boston Globe. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  47. ^ Nyugen, Andrew (November 25, 2025). "Explore the full results of the Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll of Mass. residents". Retrieved December 25, 2025.
  48. ^ Lisinski, Chris (March 11, 2026). "Rent control opponents warn of $300 billion impact to local budgets". Commonwealth Beacon. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  49. ^ Stout, Matt (December 23, 2025). "Rent control would 'effectively halt' housing production in Massachusetts, Healey says". The Boston Globe. Retrieved December 23, 2025.
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