A special election in the U.S. state of Massachusetts was held on May 13, 2025, to elect a new member for the 6th Essex district in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, representing the town of Beverly and a portion of Wenham in Essex County. The election filled vacancy caused by the resignation of Democratic state representative Jerry Parisella upon his appointment to a judgeship. Beverly city councilor Hannah Bowen won the election with 74% of the vote.

Procedure and background

Under state law, all vacancies in Congress or the Massachusetts General Court must be filled by special election. The election must take place between 145 and 160 days of the vacancy. The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of the unexpired two-year term. However, if a vacancy is created after February 1 of an even-numbered year, no special election will take place, and the seat will remain vacant until after the next general election.

The election made necessary after incumbent Democrat representative Jerry Parisella, who had served since 2011, was confirmed as a district court judge on December 18, 2024.

Candidates had until March 4 to submit signatures to be placed on the ballot, and until March 14 to withdraw. The primary was held on April 15.

The Essex 6th district consists of the entirety of the town of Beverly and a portion of Wenham. Most of the district's voters reside in the town of Beverly, with over 96 percent of votes cast in 2024 being from that town. In Beverley, Democrats have a voter registration advantage, with 24 percent of registered voters in the town being registered Democrats, as opposed to only 8 percent being Republicans. Nearly 67 percent of voters in the town are not affiliated with any party.

Democratic candidates have won all but one state representative election in Essex 6th since 1970, the earliest available records in the publicly-available Massachusetts Elections Archive. The sole Republican win was by James R. Henry in 1990, who won by 3 points and served for a single term before being defeated in the 1992 general election by Michael P. Cahill by 31 points.

Previous results (2010–present) This table shows every election in 6th Essex won by the previous incumbent, Democrat Jerry Parisella. Year Democrats Opponents Write-in Mgn. Ref. 2024 Jerry Parisella (i) 16,598 71.01% Ty Vitale (Rep.) 5,548 23.74% 11 0.05% D+47.27 Eupulio Marciano (Unaff.) 1,216 5.20% 2022 Jerry Parisella (i) 14,666 98.77% 183 1.23% D+97.54 2020 Jerry Parisella (i) 17,910 79.82% Eupulio Marciano (Unaff.) 4,526 20.17% 2 0.01% D+59.65 2018 Jerry Parisella (i) 14,615 85.35% Donato Paglia (Unaff.) 2,500 14.60% 9 0.05% D+70.75 2016 Jerry Parisella (i) 15,012 74.80% Daniel Fishman (UIP) 5,045 25.14% 12 0.06% D+49.66 2014 Jerry Parisella (i) 9,912 74.13% Eupulio Marciano (Unaff.) 3,458 25.86% 1 0.01% D+48.27 2012 Jerry Parisella (i) 16,355 98.92% 178 1.08% D+97.84 2010 Jerry Parisella 9,111 60.25% Brett Schetzsle 5,996 39.65% 14 0.09% D+20.60

Democratic primary Nominee Hannah Bowen, Beverly city councilor at-large Todd Rotondo, Beverly city council vice president from Ward 1 Eliminated in primary Results

Republican primary Nominee Medley Long III, former Greater Beverly Chamber of Commerce president and businessman Results

General election Results

Results by town Town Bowen Long III OthersTotalMargin Votes Percent Votes Percent Votes Percent Votes Votes PercentBeverly3,955 66.70%1,408 23.74%27 0.46%5,3902,547 42.95%Wenham137 75.69%44 24.31%0 0.00%18193 51.38%

See also 2025 Massachusetts House of Representatives Bristol 3 special election

External links Voting information (Secretary of the Commonwealth) Official campaign Web sites Hannah Bowen (D) Medley Long III (R) Todd Rotondo (D, eliminated)

References