Senator Ed Markey, the 80-year-old incumbent, handily won the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts, defeating 47-year-old Representative Seth Moulton. Markey secured approximately two-thirds of the vote, with 69% of the expected vote reporting, while Moulton trailed significantly. This victory for Markey, a prominent progressive who co-authored the Green New Deal and supports "Medicare for All," is seen as a win for the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.
Moulton's campaign strategy heavily focused on advocating for generational change, suggesting that Markey, who has served in Washington since before Moulton was born, was too old for the position. However, voters largely rejected this argument. Markey countered by highlighting his robust progressive record and endorsements from influential figures like Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. This is not the first time Markey has successfully fended off a younger challenger, having defeated Joe Kennedy III six years prior, who also campaigned on generational change.
Despite Moulton and his allies outspending Markey and his supporters by a significant margin, with Moulton's camp spending $7.1 million on ads compared to Markey's $3.9 million, Markey still emerged victorious. This outcome suggests that strong progressive credentials and endorsements from key progressive leaders resonated more with primary voters than arguments for age-based leadership change. Markey will now face Republican nominee John Deaton and third-party socialist candidate Joe Tache in the November general election.
