Markey Defeats Moulton in Democratic Primary

Incumbent Senator Ed J. Markey (D-Mass.) secured the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, beating Representative Seth W. Moulton ’01 (D-Mass.) after a campaign centered on generational turnover.

The 80-year-old candidate secured 76 percent of the vote, according to the Associated Press, and will now face Republican candidate John Deaton in the November general election in pursuit of his third Senate term.

Moulton represents the Sixth Congressional District of Massachusetts, which stretches from Salem to Amesbury. Moulton launched his campaign against Markey last October, arguing that Markey was too old to run for re-election.

Though Moulton is viewed as a more moderate Democrat, he and Markey are generally aligned on policy issues, leaving age as the most prominent distinction between the two. In his campaign announcement, 47-year-old Moulton compared Markey’s candidacy to former U.S. President Joe Biden’s unsuccessful 2024 presidential campaign, which sparked turmoil in the Democratic party over lawmakers’ ages and generational differences.

Markey has served in Congress for nearly 50 years and was first elected to the Senate in 2013. If elected in November, he will be 86 by the end of his next term.

Moulton’s campaign was not the first time Markey, the oldest Senate Democrat seeking reelection in the midterms, faced a challenge largely centered on his age. Joseph P. Kennedy III challenged Markey for Senate in 2020, similarly calling for younger leadership. Kennedy lost the primary by 11 points.

Moulton came under scrutiny in early August when The American Prospect published an investigation, cited by the Markey campaign, alleging Moulton made millions while serving on the House Armed Services Committee through private business dealings.

Moulton has faced criticism from more progressive Democrats for his 2024 comments opposing the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports. He apologized for his comments at a recent debate, but Markey’s campaign invoked the comments repeatedly throughout the campaign.

Moulton also clashed with the party last fall after Democrats approved the 2026 federal budget, a Senate bill that would reopen the government after a 43-day shutdown. Moulton slammed his fellow Democrats in a November interview with The Crimson for approving the bill without renewing the expiring subsidies for health insurance premiums on the Affordable Care Act market.

Prominent Democrats overwhelmingly backed Markey. The incumbent received support from Senator Elizabeth A. Warren (D-Mass.), Rep. Ayanna S. Pressley (D-Mass.), and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) He was also supported by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu ’07, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea J. Campbell, and all but one Boston city councilor.

Moulton’s slate of endorsements was sparse in comparison. He was backed by Cambridge City Councilor Patricia M. “Patty” Nolan ‘80, The Boston Globe editorial board, New Jersey governor Mikie Sherrill, and several Massachusetts unions.

An Aug. 26 poll conducted by 7NEWS and the University of New Hampshire showed Markey with a 35-point lead.

Moulton still outraised Markey by nearly $1 million. He raised more than $6.2 million for his campaign, including more than $241,000 from PACs. Markey raised nearly $5.4 million and received nearly $590,000 from PACs.

Markey has represented Massachusetts in the Senate since a June 2013 special election after former Senator John Kerry resigned to become Secretary of State. He has built his Senate career largely around climate policy, co-authoring the Green New Deal resolution with Rep. Ocasio-Cortez in 2019.

Currently, Markey serves on the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, the Committee on Environment and Public Works, and is a ranking member on the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Markey has pointed to that portfolio on the campaign trail, as well as his decades-long work on telecommunications and consumer protection dating back to his House tenure.

Markey has also leaned on his record as a longtime consumer advocate, including his authorship of a 1987 law that curbed construction of new coal-fired power plants and his role establishing the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve to insulate New England from oil-price spikes.

—Staff writer Megan L. Blonigen can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at mblon.50. Follow her on X at @MeganBlonigen.

—Staff writer Julia A. Karabolli can be reached at [email protected].