Markey Defeats Moulton in Massachusetts Senate Primary

Sen. Ed Markey won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts on Tuesday, turning back a challenge from Rep. Seth Moulton in a race that centered on whether the party should turn to a new generation of leaders. The Associated Press projected Markey's win less than an hour after polls closed, according to Fox News, and The Hill described the result as an easy rout.

Markey, 80, is seeking a third full term in the Senate and has represented Massachusetts in Congress for nearly five decades. Moulton, 47, built his campaign around the case that Democrats need younger leadership. Markey countered by emphasizing his progressive record, including his support for transgender rights in sports, a position most Democrats have avoided this cycle, Fox News reported. "Trans athletes should be able to play," Markey told The New York Times, adding that the stance reflects Massachusetts. Moulton argued the issue contributed to Democratic losses across the board in 2024.

The Senate contest was the marquee race on a night when establishment Democrats swept aside progressive and generational challenges in contests across the state, according to Fox News. The primary was held Sept. 1, following a final debate in which the two candidates clashed over transgender athletes, ICE, socialism and term limits.

The context

The Massachusetts primary was the final major primary night before the midterms, arriving nine weeks ahead of Election Day. Markey's victory cut against a pattern seen elsewhere this cycle: The Hill reported that old-guard Democrats have lost to younger challengers in other races, and NPR noted a broader push for younger leadership within the party. Moulton tried to ride that current, framing the race as a referendum on generational change and criticizing Markey's willingness to campaign on transgender athletes, an issue Republicans have used as a rallying cry and most Democrats have stayed quiet about as the party tries to flip both chambers of Congress. Massachusetts remains reliably Democratic; the state has not elected a Republican senator since 2013, when Scott Brown lost to Elizabeth Warren, according to Fox News.

Why it matters

The result offers a data point on the direction of the Democratic Party heading into the midterms. A decisive win by an 80-year-old incumbent over a 47-year-old challenger suggests the generational-change argument has limits, at least in Massachusetts, where establishment candidates prevailed up and down the ballot Tuesday. Markey's win also shows a Democrat can survive a primary while openly championing transgender athletes' participation in sports, an issue much of the party has sidestepped. Given the state's deep-blue lean, Fox News reported the position is unlikely to cost Markey in November.

What’s next

Markey advances to the November general election in his bid for a third full term. Fox News reported that Massachusetts' Democratic tilt makes his position on transgender athletes unlikely to hurt him there, though the general election matchup and its dynamics were not detailed in available reporting. With the last major primary night complete, attention turns to the midterm campaigns themselves, now nine weeks out, and to whether the generational debate resurfaces in other Democratic contests.