Karen Spilka
2023 - Present
2025
1
Karen Spilka (Democratic Party) is a member of the Massachusetts State Senate, representing Middlesex and Norfolk District. She assumed office on January 4, 2023. Her current term ends on January 1, 2025.
Spilka (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Massachusetts State Senate to represent Middlesex and Norfolk District. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Spilka was elected state Senate president on July 25, 2018.[1]
Biography
Karen Spilka earned a B.S. in social work from Cornell University. Spilka's career experience includes owning a business, and working as a social worker and attorney.[2]
Committee assignments
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Massachusetts committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Rules, Vice chair |
| • Ways and Means, Chair |
| • Rules Joint, Vice chair |
| • Ways and Means Joint, Chair |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Spilka served on the following committees:
| Massachusetts committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Ways and Means, Chair |
| • Rules |
| • Ways and Means Joint, Chair |
| • Rules Joint |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Spilka served on the following committees:
| Massachusetts committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Ethics and Rules |
| • Steering and Policy |
| • Rules Joint |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Spilka served on these committees:
| Massachusetts committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Joint, Chair |
| • Ethics and Rules, Vice chair |
| • Global Warming and Climate Change |
| • Revenue Joint |
| • Rules Joint, Vice chair |
| • Transportation Joint |
| • Ways and Means |
| • Ways and Means Joint |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Spilka served on these committees:
| Massachusetts committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Joint |
| • Ethics and Rules |
| • Federal Stimulus Oversight Joint |
| • Global Warming and Climate Change |
| • Health Care Financing Joint |
| • Higher Education Joint |
| • Labor and Workforce Development Joint |
| • Rules Joint |
| • Ways and Means |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2024
See also: Massachusetts State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for Massachusetts State Senate Middlesex and Norfolk District
Incumbent Karen Spilka won election in the general election for Massachusetts State Senate Middlesex and Norfolk District on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | Karen Spilka (D) | |
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate Middlesex and Norfolk District
Incumbent Karen Spilka advanced from the Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate Middlesex and Norfolk District on September 3, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Karen Spilka | 100.0 | 17,526 | |
| Total votes: 17,526 | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Spilka in this election.
2022
See also: Massachusetts State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for Massachusetts State Senate Middlesex and Norfolk District
Incumbent Karen Spilka won election in the general election for Massachusetts State Senate Middlesex and Norfolk District on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Karen Spilka (D) | 98.2 | 52,484 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.8 | 952 | ||
| Total votes: 53,436 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate Middlesex and Norfolk District
Incumbent Karen Spilka advanced from the Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate Middlesex and Norfolk District on September 6, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Karen Spilka | 99.5 | 18,538 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.5 | 91 | ||
| Total votes: 18,629 | ||||
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2020
See also: Massachusetts State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Middlesex and Norfolk District (Historical)
Incumbent Karen Spilka won election in the general election for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Middlesex and Norfolk District (Historical) on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Karen Spilka (D) | 98.5 | 70,660 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.5 | 1,050 | ||
| Total votes: 71,710 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Middlesex and Norfolk District (Historical)
Incumbent Karen Spilka advanced from the Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Middlesex and Norfolk District (Historical) on September 1, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Karen Spilka | 99.6 | 32,510 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 119 | ||
| Total votes: 32,629 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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2018
General election
General election for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Middlesex and Norfolk District (Historical)
Incumbent Karen Spilka won election in the general election for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Middlesex and Norfolk District (Historical) on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Karen Spilka (D) | 98.7 | 54,347 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.3 | 715 | ||
| Total votes: 55,062 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Middlesex and Norfolk District (Historical)
Incumbent Karen Spilka advanced from the Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Middlesex and Norfolk District (Historical) on September 4, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Karen Spilka | 100.0 | 13,328 | |
| Total votes: 13,328 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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2016
Elections for the Massachusetts State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on September 8, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 7, 2016.
Incumbent Karen Spilka ran unopposed in the Massachusetts State Senate Second Middlesex & Norfolk District general election.[3][4]
| Massachusetts State Senate, Second Middlesex & Norfolk District General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic |  Karen Spilka Incumbent (unopposed) | |
| Source: Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth | ||
Incumbent Karen Spilka ran unopposed in the Massachusetts State Senate Second Middlesex & Norfolk District Democratic Primary.[5][6]
| Massachusetts State Senate, Second Middlesex & Norfolk District Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Karen Spilka Incumbent (unopposed) | |
Jake Binnall ran as a write-in candidate in the Republican primary.
2014
Elections for the Massachusetts State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election was held on September 9, 2014, and a general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 3, 2014. Incumbent Karen Spilka was unopposed in the Democratic primary and was unopposed in the general election.[7]
2013
Spilka was a 2013 Democratic candidate seeking election to the U.S. House representing the 5th Congressional District of Massachusetts.[8] The election was held to replace outgoing Rep. Ed Markey (D) who was elected to the U.S. Senate in the June 25th election for John Kerry's vacant seat after his appointment as Secretary of State.[9][10] She was defeated by Katherine Clark in the Democratic primary on October 15, 2013.[11]
| U.S. House, Massachusetts District 5 Special Democratic Primary, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|
Katherine Clark |
31.6% | 21,983 | ||
| Peter Koutoujian | 22% | 15,303 | ||
| Carl Sciortino | 16% | 11,160 | ||
| Will Brownsberger | 14.6% | 10,163 | ||
| Karen Spilka | 13.1% | 9,088 | ||
| John Paul Maisano | 2.2% | 1,520 | ||
| Martin Long | 0.6% | 398 | ||
| Total Votes | 69,615 | |||
| Source: Official Results from Massachusetts Elections Division | ||||
Endorsements
Two unions, UFCW Locals 791 and 328, announced their support for state senator Spilka on August 1, 2013.[12]
2012
Spilka won re-election in the 2012 election for Massachusetts State Senate Second Middlesex and Norfolk District. Spilka was unopposed in the September 6 Democratic primary and was unopposed in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[13][14]
2010
Spilka won re-election to the Second Middlesex and Norfolk District seat in 2010. She had no primary opposition. Edward McGrath ran for the seat on the Republican ticket. The general election took place on November 2, 2010.
| Massachusetts State Senate - Second Middlesex and Norfolk District | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Karen Spilka (D)
|
34,499 | |||
| Edward McGrath (R) | 23,707 | |||
| All Others | 51 | |||
| Blanks | 2,902 | |||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Spilka won re-election to the state senate in the Second Middlesex and Norfolk district.[15] In this election she raised $55,955-; of that total $54,626- (97.7%) was from in state contributions and $1,275- (2.3%) was from out of state contributions.[16]
| Massachusetts State Senate - Second Middlesex and Norfolk district | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Karen Spilka (D)
|
57,006 | |||
| All Others | 888 | |||
| Blanks | 22,032 | |||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Karen Spilka did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Karen Spilka did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Karen Spilka did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Massachusetts scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Massachusetts State Legislature was in session from January 4 to November 15.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the Massachusetts State Legislature was in session from January 5 to August 1.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Massachusetts State Legislature was in session from January 6 to January 4.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Massachusetts State Legislature was in session from January 1 to January 5.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 2 through December 31.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Massachusetts General Court was in formal session from January 3 to July 31. The legislature was in informal session from August 1 to December 31.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 4 through November 15. The legislature held an informal session from November 16 to January 2.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 6 through July 31.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 7, 2015, through January 5, 2016.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 14 through August 1.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 2 to December 31.
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 4 through July 31.
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2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
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In 2011, the Massachusetts General Court was in session from January 5 through November 16.
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Noteworthy events
Omitting party affiliation
According to a Boston Herald article, Spilka has sent mailings to voters that do not list her party affiliation. The mailing reportedly says Spilka hopes to become the "next state senator," despite having served in office since 2004. He campaign officials said they are "running as if we're running for the first time."[17] Spilka's opponent said people don't care about a candidate's party, but rather, "whether you're an incumbent or a challenger."[18]
See also
2024 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Massachusetts State Senate Middlesex and Norfolk District |
Officeholder Massachusetts State Senate Middlesex and Norfolk District |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ The MetroWest Daily News, "Spilka seizes opportunity to become Senate president," July 25, 2018
- ↑ Senate President Karen E. Spilka, "About," accessed April 20, 2023
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of State, "2016 State election candidates," accessed October 3, 2016
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "Election data lookup," accessed December 20, 2016
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Candidates (Democratic)," accessed June 20, 2016
- ↑ Secretary of the Commonweath of Massachusetts, "Massachusetts Election Statistics," accessed October 14, 2016
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "2014 State Primary Candidates," accessed September 9, 2014
- ↑ WBUR "State Rep. Carl Sciortino Announces Congressional Bid" accessed June 27, 2013
- ↑ Boston.com, "Secretary of state to set Senate special election date of June 25," January 28, 2013
- ↑ The Boston Globe, "William ‘Mo’ Cowan to be interim US senator," January 30, 2013
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs nameddprimary - ↑ Framingham Patch, "15th Labor Union Endorses Sen. Spilka for Congress" accessed August 7, 2013
- ↑ 2012 State Primary Candidate List, "Massachusetts Secretary of State," accessed June 26, 2012
- ↑ 2012 Massachusetts Secretary of State, Official 2012 Primary Results
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "Return of Votes For Massachusetts State Election - November 4, 2008," accessed March 18, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "2008 campaign contributions," accessed December 29, 2014
- ↑ Boston Herald, "Identity crisis hits Democrats" October 19, 2010
- ↑ Metro West Daily News, "Many candidates leave party affiliation off literature" October 16, 2010
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Massachusetts State Senate Middlesex and Norfolk District 2023-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Middlesex and Norfolk District (Historical) 2005-2023 |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Massachusetts House of Representatives 2001-2002 |
Succeeded by - |
