Democrat Lisa Field Narrowly Holds Open Massachusetts State House Seat
The special election was called following the death of State Representative Carol Doherty (D).
The special election occurred today in Massachusetts to fill a vacancy in the State House of Representatives. This was the second special election in the state legislature this year. The Democratic and Republican candidates were selected through primaries in May.
The special election for the 3rd Bristol District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives was called after State Representative Carol Doherty, a Democrat, died of pancreatic cancer. She represented this district from June 2020 to February 2025. She was re-elected unopposed in November 2024.
The 3rd Bristol District includes parts of Easton and Taunton in Bristol County. During the 2024 presidential election, Democrat Kamala Harris carried the seat by a 52-46 margin against Republican Donald Trump.
Massachusetts House of Representatives (134 Democrats, 25 Republicans, 1 Independent):
For the 3rd Bristol District, Democrat Lisa Field won with 50.2% (2,574) against Republican Larry Quintal with 49.8% (2,553). 5,127 votes counted.
Field works as an associate director of Massachusetts Nurses Association. Furthermore, she co-founded the group Clean Air Taunton.
This was the second special election in the Massachusetts House of Representatives this year. Democrats were never at risk of losing supermajority control of the legislative chamber. However, the results bucked the overall trend of special elections in 2025 so far. While many of these contests have seen Democratic over-performances, this seat trended further to the right.
All 160 seats in the Massachusetts House of Representatives will next be up for regular two-year terms in November 2026.