Candidates planning to run in special elections to fill two open state Senate seats can file until Aug. 3.

Elections will be held Oct. 18 in Senate District 46, in Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center, to fill the seat held by Sen. Linda Scheid, who died last month of ovarian cancer, and in Senate District 61, to replace Sen. Linda Berglin, who is resigning in August.

A primary will be held Sept. 15, if needed.

In District 61, DFL State Rep. Jeff Hayden, who represents half of Berglin’s district in the state House, plans to run, and in District 46,  Chris Eaton, a longtime DFL and union activist, says she’s running.

Both seats have been DFL strongholds for years.