List of United States Senators from Massachusetts

This is a chronological listing of the United States Senators from Massachusetts.

United States Senators are popularly elected, for a six year term, beginning January 3. Elections are held the first Tuesday after November 1st. Before 1914, they were chosen by the Massachusetts General Court, and before 1935, their terms began March 4.

Mid-term vacancy appointment processes

Through the 20th Century, mid-term vacancies were filled by appointment of the governor, with the appointment expiring at the next biennial state election. In 2004, the Democratic-controlled state legislature changed the vacancy-filling process, mandating that a special election occur, which removed the Governor's appointment power. This statute was enacted over the veto by the Governor, Mitt Romney. The leadership of the legislature at the time was concerned that the Repubican governor Mitt Romney would appoint a Republican should Democrat John Kerry be elected United States President that year. cite news | first= Pam | last= Belluck | coauthors= | title= Massachusetts Politicians Fight Over a Kerry Victory
date= June 25, 2004| publisher= | url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940CE2D91F39F936A15755C0A9629C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all | work = New York times | pages = | accessdate = 2008-05-21 ] ] cite news | first= Scott S. | last= Greenberger | coauthors= | title= Romney veto overridden: Governor can no longer fill vacancies in the US Senate
date= July 31, 2004 | publisher= | url = http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2004/07/31/romney_veto_overridden/?page=full| work = Boston Globe | pages = | accessdate = 2008-05-21 | ] ] Generally, the law requires a special election within 145 to 160 days from the date a vacancy is created; the law also considers a vacancy to be created upon the filing of a resignation, and time tolls from that date, provided the election occurs after the date the resignation is effective. ]

Class I Senators

Class 1 U.S. Senators belong to the electoral cycle that were elected for one session of the U.S. Congress in the first election of 1788/1789 and whose seats in recent years are contested in 1994, 2000, 2006, and 2012.

Class II Senators

Class 2 U.S. Senators belong to the electoral cycle that were elected for two sessions of the U.S. Congress in the first election of 1788 and whose seats in recent years are contested in 1996, 2002, 2008, and 2014.

Notes