Markey defeats Moulton in Massachusetts Senate primary

Sen. Ed Markey defeated Rep. Seth Moulton in Massachusetts’ Democratic Senate primary Tuesday, turning aside a generational challenge and giving the party’s progressive wing a high-profile victory in a year when several longtime Democrats have fallen to younger candidates.

The Associated Press called the race for Markey, 80, who is seeking a third full term. NBC News projected that Markey was leading by nearly 50 percentage points with 2% of the expected vote reporting. He will face Republican nominee John Deaton, an attorney, in November. In heavily Democratic Massachusetts, Markey is favored to win the general election.

Moulton, 47, made age and political renewal central to his campaign, arguing that Democrats needed a new generation of leaders. Markey countered by emphasizing his record on the left, including his support for “Medicare for All” and his role as an author of the Green New Deal.

“It’s all about not just sending a Democrat to the Senate — it’s sending a progressive Democrat to the Senate from Massachusetts so there can be someone that reflects your values every single day,” Markey said at a rally on the eve of the primary, calling the contest “a progressive final round.”

The race unfolded as Democratic voters nationwide have debated the age and effectiveness of senior party leaders, a concern sharpened by Joe Biden’s troubled 2024 reelection bid and Kamala Harris’ later failure to stop Donald Trump from returning to the White House. In other primaries this year, some younger progressive challengers defeated long-serving incumbents while promising breaks from party orthodoxy on issues such as support for Israel.

Massachusetts presented a different dynamic. Markey, first elected to the House in 1976 and to the Senate in 2013, ran as the progressive standard-bearer. Moulton, who entered Congress in 2014 from a northeastern Massachusetts district, pushed for generational change while taking more moderate positions on some issues. He has not endorsed single-payer health care proposals.

Markey had support from prominent progressives, including Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, as well as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. Sanders and Warren appeared in an ad backing him.

Moulton and his allies outspent Markey’s side on advertising, $7.1 million to $3.9 million, according to AdImpact. Markey’s allies used some of their ads to attack Moulton over past criticism of liberal policies. Commonwealth Together PAC said Moulton opposed Medicare for All and taxing billionaires, citing comments from his unsuccessful 2019 presidential campaign.

Moulton argued that shared goals were not enough. “Sen. Markey and I want the same things, but wanting isn’t winning, and the old way isn’t working,” he said in one television ad, listing policies including “tax the oligarchs, abolish ICE, pass healthcare for all.”

The candidates also clashed over transgender rights. Markey said at his election-eve rally that Moulton “threw trans kids under the bus” after the 2024 election. Moulton had told The New York Times, “I have two little girls. I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat I’m supposed to be afraid to say that.” He later apologized to “anyone hurt by those comments” and said he supports LGBTQ rights.

Age became a flashpoint in debates. “I think everyone watching this debate can see that I’m more energized than I’ve ever been before in my life. I am crisscrossing the state. I’m fighting for families,” Markey said in August. In a July debate hosted by WWLP, he said, “This is the most energized I’ve ever been, fighting Donald Trump every single day, fighting his agenda to undermine families all across our country. And I lead that fight.”

Moulton pressed the issue when Markey was asked what artificial intelligence tools he used and answered, “whatever is inside of my iPhone and my iPad — whatever comes up.” Moulton responded, “Senator, if you don’t even know what you’re using on your phone or your iPad, this is why we need a new generation of leaders to regulate these technologies to make sure that they are safe.”

The victory is Markey’s second primary win over a much younger challenger. In 2020, he defeated Rep. Joe Kennedy III, a member of Massachusetts’ best-known political dynasty, who also argued the state needed younger representation.