


Beacon Hill lawmakers scheduled a June 10 special election to fill the southern Massachusetts House seat last held by Rep. Carol Doherty, who died last month at 82 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Doherty, a Taunton Democrat, was first elected to the Legislature in 2020 after working as a school teacher, guidance counselor, school committee member, and president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association.
Doherty’s office announced her death Feb. 15 on social media. House Speaker Ron Mariano called her a “kind, passionate, and a fierce advocate for the residents of Taunton and Easton on Beacon Hill, and served them honorably until her final days.”
A primary election will be held May 13 and candidates who want to have their names printed on the ballot will have until April 1 to gather signatures on nomination papers and submit them to local election officials in the district, according to Secretary of State William Galvin’s office.
Candidates will also need to turn in 150 certified signatures with state election officials by April 8, Galvin’s office said in a statement.
The Third Bristol District covers most of Taunton and parts of Easton. The district lost a portion of Taunton and gained more of Easton during the 2021 redistricting process.
A majority of the House seat falls within Sen. Kelly Dooner’s district, which the Taunton Republican flipped to the conservative column during the 2024 election after it was held for decades by former Sen. Marc Pacheco, a Democrat from Taunton.
The northern part of the House seat sits in the district represented by Sen. Bill Driscoll, a Milton Democrat.