Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) is all but certain to secure a third term in the November general election after clinching the Massachusetts Senate Democratic primary Tuesday against the younger, more centrist Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA).
The race was called for Markey at 8:31 p.m. by the Associated Press. He garnered 74.1% to Moulton’s 25.9% with 3% of the vote counted.
The contest was among the bitter primary feuds for Democrats this cycle, but bucked the growing trend of younger, more progressive insurgents ousting older and more centrist incumbents.
It was the progressive credentials of Markey, 80, that buoyed his bid for another term against Moulton, 47. Markey, who was first elected to the House in 1976, has been in Congress longer than Moulton has been alive.
Despite trying to make age a flashpoint of the race, Moulton was unable to overcome Markey’s liberal accolades, which he used to secure support from younger voters. He’s a co-author of the Green New Deal, and he was backed by national progressive darlings and former presidential candidates like Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), as well as another home state colleague, Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA).
Moulton, himself a former 2020 White House candidate, was among the first Democrats to call for President Joe Biden to drop his reelection, challenged then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for her leadership post, and struggled to chip away at Markey’s popularity with a pivot to the left from more moderate positions on policies like transgender athletes and government-run healthcare.
OCTOGENARIAN ED MARKEY’S PROGRESSIVE CREDENTIALS OUTWEIGH AGE CONCERNS IN MASSACHUSETTS
In the closing weeks of the campaign, Markey was one of the few Democrats nationally to lean into transgender rights, as he hammered Moulton for comments he made after the 2024 election.
The seat is solidly blue and is all but certain to go to Markey in November against Republican John Deaton.