Democratic Sen. Ed Markey defeated Rep. Seth Moulton in the Senate primary in Massachusetts, NBC News projects, in a victory for the party’s progressive wing.
Markey was winning about two-thirds of the vote percentage points with 69% of the expected vote reporting.
Markey’s win comes as other longtime Democratic lawmakers have lost to younger challengers in primaries this year. But the 80-year-old senator fended off his challenger by touting his liberal record as an author of the Green New Deal and vocal supporter of “Medicare for All.”
“It’s all about not just sending a Democrat to the Senate — it’s sending a progressive Democrat to the Senate from Massachusetts so there can be someone that reflects your values every single day,” Markey said at a rally on the eve of the primary, describing the race as “a progressive final round.”
Moulton said Tuesday night that he had called Markey “to congratulate him on his victory tonight.” Moulton told supporters that Markey “has my full support as our Democratic nominee, and we must stand united this November to protect our democracy and defeat Donald Trump.”
Moulton and his allies had a spending advantage in the race, spending $7.1 million on ads to Markey and his allies’ $3.9 million, according to AdImpact. That makes Markey’s win another victory for a progressive who faced an onslaught of well-funded attacks.
On the campaign trail and the airwaves, Markey also touted endorsements from progressive leaders, including Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who both appeared in an ad for the senator, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
Moulton, the 47-year-old congressman, called in his campaign for generational change — a call that has cost a handful of House Democrats their seats in primaries across the country this year. Markey was first elected to the Senate in 2013 after serving nearly 40 years in the House.
“Sen. Markey and I want the same things, but wanting isn’t winning, and the old way isn’t working,” Moulton said in one of his TV ads, listing policies including “tax the oligarchs, abolish ICE, pass healthcare for all.”
But Markey and his allies attacked Moulton for his past criticism of liberal policies. Commonwealth Together PAC, an outside group that has attacked Moulton, launched an ad saying the congressman opposes Medicare for All and taxing billionaires, pointing to 2019 comments from Moulton’s unsuccessful campaign for president.
Markey also sharply criticized Moulton on transgender issues, saying at the election-eve rally that Moulton “threw trans kids under the bus” after the 2024 election. Moulton told The New York Times after Democrats lost the presidential race: “I have two little girls. I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat I’m supposed to be afraid to say that.”
Moulton apologized to “anyone hurt by those comments” in a recent debate.
In his primary campaign, Markey also vowed to continue fighting President Donald Trump.
“It’s a moment in history where Trump is challenging everything that started right here 250 years ago,” Markey said in one ad, referring to the country’s founding. “We have a message from Massachusetts: We are going to fight.”
