Ed Markey defeats Seth Moulton in Massachusetts’ Democratic primary for Senate
Incumbent Sen. Ed Markey has won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts, defeating U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton.
Markey is seeking a third full term representing Massachusetts in the Senate. He will face Republican John Deaton in the general election.
Markey was first elected to the Senate in 2013 and has been known as a champion of progressive causes like the Green New Deal. He talked about his agenda while voting in Malden Tuesday morning.
“I am going to provide a progressive vision in action on the floor of the United States Senate,” Markey said. “That is Medicare for all, it’s a Green New Deal, it is taxing billionaires, it’s making sure we cut off this flow of defense money that Donald Trump is using to run an illegal unconstitutional war in Iran. It’s just in general, a progressive message for all of the voters.”
In his victory speech, Markey said, “Tonight is a testament to the power of the progressive movement of our nation.”
Markey called for passing of his Transgender Bill of Rights, the abolishment of ICE, the end of the war in Iran and the impeachment of President Trump.
“We need to build more than just a Democratic majority in Congress, we need to cement a progressive Democratic majority, one that will use it’s political capital to take on the bosses, the billionaires and the wannabe kings,” Markey said. “And after we win, we will remove Donald Trump from the White House and restore and rebuild and expand our vision for a democracy and an economy that works for every single person.”
Moulton is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who was elected to represent Massachusetts’ 6th Congressional District in 2014. He’s been a disruptor in his party, leading an unsuccessful attempt to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming House speaker in 2018. He also ran for president in 2020.
“With costs skyrocketing, we need new solutions to old challenges and then we need a new generation of leadership to take on new challenges like AI, that unfortunately, the senator doesn’t even understand,” Moulton said earlier on Tuesday. “And we also need to send someone to Washington who is going to fight to win the majority across the country.”
There are few policy differences between the two, but Moulton argued that it was time for a change from Markey, who is 80 years old and has been in Congress since 1976. Markey has said he’s as energized as ever, but pledges this would be his last term.
Addressing his supporters Tuesday night, Moulton said Markey has his full support.
“Challenging the establishment and calling for a new generation of leadership isn’t easy, but it is necessary,” Moulton said. “We started conversations that needed to happen, and I will never stop pushing the Democratic Party and our country to look toward the future.”
Massachusetts congressional primaries
With Moulton running for Senate, there were six Democrats vying for the nomination to his 6th Congressional District seat, which covers much of the North Shore and parts of the Merrimack Valley. Dan Koh won the nomination over Bethany Andres-Beck, John Beccia, Jamie Belsito, Mariah Lancaster and Tram Nguyen.
In the 8th Congressional District, Rep. Stephen Lynch is being challenged by attorney Patrick Roath, whose campaign has spent more than $1 million trying to unseat the longtime incumbent from South Boston.
Massachusetts Republican primary for governor
On the Republican side, the only notable primary was the race for governor. Businessman Mike Minogue, who won the party’s endorsement at the state Republican convention in April, defeated former MBTA chief Brian Shortsleeve.
Minogue will face incumbent Democratic Gov. Maura Healey.
Massachusetts district attorney races
Seven Democrats are looking to replace Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey, who is not seeking reelection after 16 years in office.
Key issues in the race include the Karen Read trials and the investigation into Sandra Birchmore‘s death. WBZ-TV’s Kristina Rex sat down for interviews with all seven candidates.
In Suffolk County, Rachael Rollins is running against incumbent District Attorney Kevin Hayden to try and get her old job back. She resigned as U.S. attorney for Massachusetts in 2023 after an ethics investigation.