Massachusetts: Progressive Ed Markey, 80, defeats a rival 33 years younger in the Democratic Senate primary

Edward Ed Markey won the Democratic primary for the Senate in Massachusetts. The progressive senator defeated his moderate challenger, Congressman Seth Moulton, by a margin of thirty percentage points. Following his victory, he will face Republican John Deaton in November.

Markey, 80, joined the Senate in 2013 after spending 37 years in the House of Representatives. That year, he won a special election to replace John Kerry, who became secretary of state under Barack Obama. Since then, he has been a leading figure in the Democratic Party's progressive agenda in the Senate, alongside Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Both endorsed his reelection campaign.

With 40% of the votes counted, Decision Desk HQ declared Markey the winner. The senator won 65% of the vote to Moulton's 35%. Moulton, a member of the House of Representatives, presented himself as a moderate alternative and built his campaign around "generational change." The 47-year-old congressman argued that the veteran senator no longer adequately represented younger generations and even questioned his ability to address some of the country's major technological challenges.

Markey already weathered a tough generational challenge in the 2020 Democratic primary, when Joe Kennedy III, then a congressman and grandson of Robert Bobby Kennedy, challenged him. Markey won with 55.4% of the vote to Kennedy's 44.5%, also becoming the first Kennedy to lose an election for federal office in Massachusetts. At the time, Markey was 74 and his opponent was 39.

In the general election in November, Markey will face Republican John Deaton, an attorney who won the Republican primary unopposed. Deaton spoke with VOZ in 2025 and said Massachusetts is much more independent than analysts believe.

"Well, Massachusetts is a very, very interesting state politically. There's a perception that, you know, sometimes people call it one of the bluest states in the country, but it actually has the highest amount of independent voters, registered independents, in the country. There are only 8% registered Republicans, 27% registered Democrats, and 64% are what's called "unenrolled." That's our version of independent voters," Deaton explained.

"But because of that they've went so far left that they've offended center-left people. And there's an undercurrent. You know, it's not turning red anytime soon. But there are a lot of disgruntled, unhappy voters. And I think it's because it's been one party rule so long and I think voters are ready for change," he added.

Deaton was the Republican nominee for the Senate in 2024, receiving 40% of the vote against Elizabeth Warren.