2006 Massachusetts Senate election

The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the state. All but one of the districts are named for the counties in which they are located. Senators serve two-year terms, without term limits. The Senate convenes in the Massachusetts State House, in Boston.

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States. Founded in 1828, it was predominantly built by Martin Van Buren, who assembled politicians in every state behind war hero Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party. Its main political rival has been the Republican Party since the 1850s, with both parties being big tents of competing and often opposing viewpoints. Modern American liberalism — a variant of social liberalism — is the party's majority ideology. The party also has notable centrist, social democratic, and left-libertarian factions.

The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP, is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. The GOP was founded in 1854 by anti-slavery activists who opposed the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which allowed for the potential expansion of chattel slavery into the western territories. It has been the main political rival of the Democratic Party since the mid-1850s. Like them, the Republican Party is a big tent of competing and often opposing ideologies. Presently, the Republican Party contains prominent conservative, centrist, populist, and right-libertarian factions.

Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield’s population was 43,927 at the 2020 census. Although its population has declined in recent decades, Pittsfield remains the third-largest municipality in Western Massachusetts, behind only Springfield and Chicopee.

Berkshire County is a county on the western edge of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 census, the population was 129,026. Its largest city and traditional county seat is Pittsfield. The county was founded in 1761. The Berkshire Hills are centered on Berkshire County. Residents are known as Berkshirites. It exists today only as a historical geographic region, and has no county government, with the exception of the retirement board for former county workers, and certain offices such as the sheriff and registry of deeds.

Benjamin Brackett Downing is an American politician and Democratic former member of the Massachusetts State Senate. He represented the Berkshire, Hampshire and Franklin district from 2007 to 2013, before being redistricted to the Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin, and Hampden district, which he represented until 2017.

Lee is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, metropolitan statistical area. The population was 5,788 at the 2020 census. Lee, which includes the villages of South and East Lee, is part of the Berkshires resort area.

Bristol and Norfolk is a district of the Massachusetts Senate. It covers 17.0% of Bristol County and 9.5% of Norfolk County population in 2010. Democrat Paul Feeney of Foxborough has represented the district since 2017.

Mansfield is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the United States 2020 Census, the town population is 23,860. Mansfield is in the south-southwest suburbs of Boston and is also close to Providence, Rhode Island. The village of Mansfield Center is located in the town. The town is twinned with Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, England.

Massachusetts Senate's 1st Bristol and Plymouth district in the United States is one of 40 legislative districts of the Massachusetts Senate. It covers 26.9% of Bristol County and 3.2% of Plymouth County population. Democrat Michael Rodrigues of Westport has represented the district since 2011.

Joan M. Menard is a retired American politician who also served as the vice president for work force development, lifelong learning, grant development and external affairs at Bristol Community College.

Mark C. Montigny is a Massachusetts state senator for the Second Bristol and Plymouth district, which includes his hometown of New Bedford and several nearby towns. He is a Democrat who has served since 1993.

New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American people. English colonists bought the land on which New Bedford would later be built from the Wampanoag in 1652, and the original colonial settlement that would later become the city was founded by English Quakers in the late 17th century. The town of New Bedford itself was officially incorporated in 1787.

Christopher J. Hodgkins is an American politician who represented the 4th Berkshire District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1983–2003. In 2006 he was a candidate for Massachusetts Senate in the Berkshire, Hampshire & Franklin District, but lost the Democratic primary to Benjamin Downing.

Massachusetts Senate's 1st Hampden and Hampshire district in the United States is one of 40 legislative districts of the Massachusetts Senate. It covers 30.1% of Hampden County and 13.2% of Hampshire County population. Democrat Eric Lesser of Longmeadow has represented the district since 2015.

Massachusetts Senate's 4th Middlesex district in the United States is one of 40 legislative districts of the Massachusetts Senate. It covers portions of Middlesex county. Democrat Cindy Friedman of Arlington has represented the district since 2017.

Massachusetts Senate's Plymouth and Norfolk district in the United States is one of 40 legislative districts of the Massachusetts Senate. It covers 9.1% of Norfolk County and 20.5% of Plymouth County population. Republican Patrick O'Connor of Weymouth has represented the district since 2016.

Massachusetts Senate's 2nd Suffolk district in the United States is one of 40 legislative districts of the Massachusetts Senate. It covers portions of Suffolk county. Democrat Liz Miranda of Roxbury has represented the district since 2023.

Massachusetts Senate's 1st Worcester district in the United States is one of 40 legislative districts of the Massachusetts Senate. It covers portions of Worcester county. Democrat Robyn Kennedy of Worcester has represented the district since 2023.

Massachusetts Senate's Cape and Islands district in the United States is one of 40 legislative districts of the Massachusetts Senate. It covers 66.7% of Barnstable County, all of Dukes County, and all of Nantucket County population in 2010. Democrat Julian Cyr of Truro has represented the district since 2017. He is running unopposed for re-election in the 2020 Massachusetts general election.