Sen. Ed Markey defeated Rep. Seth Moulton in the Massachusetts Democratic primary on Tuesday night. The Associated Press projected the 80-year-old senator would win just one hour after polls closed.
Markey secured his place as the nominee for a third full term in the U.S. Senate. He held off a younger challenger who ran on a platform of generational change.
Markey survived the challenge by leaning into his progressive record on transgender rights in sports. He told The New York Times, according to Fox News, “Trans athletes should be able to play.”
He added, “That reflects Massachusetts and who we are. And Seth Moulton does not.” This position is one that Republicans have used as a rallying cry recently.
Moulton argued that this stance played a major role in Democratic losses across the country in 2024. According to him, “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”
Hasan Piker, a Twitch streamer and activist, celebrated the win on the social platform X. Piker stated, “It’s very clear that the Dem voters care more about policies and having a progressive represent them in the Senate than age”
The Sunrise Movement also backed the senator in a statement to X. This organization characterized itself as a “movement of young people fighting fascism to win a Green New Deal”
Political consultant David Axelrod noted Markey’s shift from his past views. Axelrod remarked, “[Ed Markey] was first elected to Congress 50 yrs ago as a social conservative, opposed to abortion rights and school busing”
Sen. Bernie Sanders praised Markey’s victory as well. Sanders, who is 84 years old, continues to shape the progressive movement alongside Markey.
The Bay State has not had a Republican senator since 2013. It is unlikely Markey’s position on trans rights will cost him in the general election this November.
This win marks another victory for progressives despite the push for younger candidates. Markey previously beat former Rep. Joe Kennedy III in a 2020 primary that also centered on a changing of the guard.
