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The First Worcester Senatorial District is one of 40 electoral districts that each send one senator to the Massachusetts Senate. The district is represented by state Sen. Harriette Chandler of Worcester, a Democrat.

The district consists of the northern half of the city of Worcester, in Central Massachusetts, and suburban towns to the northwest, north and east.

Under previous apportionment plans, the district has also been known as the Worcester District or the Central Worcester District.

Cities and towns
The 1st Worcester District consists of all or part of six towns in Central Massachusetts, as well as wards 1, 2, 3, 4, 9 and 10, and precincts 2, 3 and 4 of Ward 8, in the city of Worcester.

History
The 1st Worcester District can trace its history back to the original state senatorial districts created in 1857. Before the 1857 apportionment, senators were elected by county, with some counties serving as multi-member districts. Worcester County formed a single district with a delegation consisting of four, five or six senators during the various apportionments of 1780 to the 1850s.

1857-1866
When a statewide system of single-member districts was established in 1957, the Central Worcester District consisted of all of Worcester and three towns to the northwest, Holden, Paxton and Rutland.

1866-1886
The redistricting of 1866 saw the 1st Worcester District renamed and curtailed to the city of Worcester.

1886-1927
After the redistricting of 1886, the 1st Worcester District consisted of several wards on the western, southern and southeastern sides of Worcester; the remainder of the city became part of the 2nd Worcester District.

1927-1971
From the redistricting of 1926 to the redistricting of 1970, the 1st Worcester District consisted of the southern half of the city of Worcester, the town of Leicester to the west, and the town of Millbury to the south.

1971-1975
From the redistricting of 1970 to the redistricting of 1973, the 1st Worcester District consisted of the southern half of the city of Worcester and the towns of Grafton, Leicester, Millbury, Paxton, Princeton, Rutland and Westborough.

1975-1995
In the redistricting of 1973, the former 1st Worcester District was renamed the Worcester and Middlesex District. The incumbent senator from the 1st Worcester District, Daniel J. Foley, was re-elected in this new district. The new 1st Worcester District was formed out of the former 2nd Worcester District and consisted of the northern half of the city of Worcester, the towns of Boylston and Shrewsbury to the east, and the towns of Clinton and West Boylston to the north.

In the election of 1974, incumbent Senator John J. Conte from the 2nd District was elected, without opposition, to represent the 1st District.

In the Democratic primary of 1976, Conte finished fourth in a four-way race, with just 7.9% of the vote. Gerard D'Amico became the party's nominee with 39.3%.

In the redistricting of 1977, which eliminated the 2nd Worcester District, the 1st Worcester District's name was changed to Worcester District. The district's boundary lines did not change.

D'Amico was re-nominated with one opponent in 1978, and re-elected with no Republican opponents in 1978, 1980 and 1982.

D'Amico did not run for re-election in 1986, instead mounting an unsuccessful bid to gain the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor. State Representative Thomas P. White won a four-way Democratic primary election for the 1st Worcester District nomination.

White was re-elected in 1988 with no opponent.

1995-2003
The redistricting of 1993 brought back the name 1st Worcester District and adjusted its boundary in the city of Worcester slightly; it lost Shrewsbury to the newly renamed 2nd Worcester District and added the town of Holden. The 1st Worcester District now consisted of Boylston, Clinton, Holden, West Boylston and the northern wards of Worcester.

Chase did not run for re-election in this district, instead gaining the Republican nomination for secretary of the commonwealth.

Bernstein was re-elected with no opponents in 1996 and 1998. He did not run for re-election in 2000. Instead, the Democrats nominated state Representative Harriette L. Chandler, who won a primary election against Joseph D. Early, Jr.

2003-2013
The redistricting of 2001 again slightly adjusted the district's boundary in Worcester. The town of Clinton was split between the 1st Worcester District and the Worcester and Middlesex District. The towns of Berlin, Paxton and Princeton, and part of Northborough, were added to the 1st Worcester District, which now consisted of Berlin, Boylston, southern Clinton, Holden, western Northborough, Paxton, Princeton, West Boylston and northern Worcester.

Chandler was re-elected with no opponent in 2008

2013-present
The redistricting of 2011 added two more Worcester precincts to the 1st Worcester District, and removed the towns of Berlin and Paxton, which joined the Worcester and Middlesex and Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire and Middlesex districts, respectively. The 1st Worcester District now consists of Boylston, southern Clinton, Holden, western Northborough, Princeton, West Boylston and northern Worcester.

Harriette Chandler was re-elected with no opponents in 2012.

Chandler was re-elected with no opponents in 2016.