Massachusetts Democrats rewarded incumbency in marquee primaries Tuesday, but the clearest message came in the states generational showdown, with 80-year-old Sen. Ed Markey routing moderate Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton, 47, after Moulton argued it was time for the party to “pass the torch.”
Tuesday night’s results underscored Democratic dominance in the deep-blue state rather than a single ideological sweep. Voters backed established incumbents across the partys factions and selected a Biden-Harris-backed former White House aide in the closely watched open-seat contest to take over Moulton’s House seat after he abandoned it to run for Senate. Meanwhile, Republicans failed to nominate House candidates in four districts â the first, second, fifth and seventh â while only fielding write-ins for the blue stronghold’s secretary of state race.
Markeys victory over the more moderate Moulton, however, stood out as the nights clearest win for the partys progressive wing.
“Its very clear that the dem voters care more about policies and having a progressive represent them in the senate, than age!,” controversial Twitch streamer and far-left activist Hasan Piker said after the Associated Press projected Markey would win. “Another w for our movement!”
Moulton highlighted the difficult battle he faced trying to unseat a longtime incumbent like Markey following his concession, but said the effort was not for nothing, noting “we started conversations that needed to happen” and adding that he is “confident … others will be inspired to buck the system when theyre told to wait their turn.”
Markey faced attacks during the campaign over his far-left positions, including his support for transgender athletes’ participation in women’s sports, but the progressive bona fides of the Massachusetts lawmaker, who has represented the state in Congress for nearly five decades, were not a significant enough sticking point for voters to abandon him.
SCANDAL-PLAGUED ‘SQUAD’ REP CRUISES TO DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION WITH NO GOP ROADBLOCKS IN VIEW
“Ed Markey has spent decades fighting for LGBTQ+ equality, for working people, and for a more livable world,” said Human Rights Campaign (HRC) President Kelley Robinson following Markey’s win. “He knows why equality matters. Hes stood with us no matter what. We were proud to endorse him this year, and when a pro-equality majority takes back the Senate this fall, we will continue to count on him as a champion for our community.”
The incumbent success Markey saw carried into the House during Tuesday night’s Massachusetts primaries, where Reps. Richard Neal and Stephen Lynch fended off younger challengers, while Reps. Katherine Clark and Jake Auchincloss also advanced. The string of wins offered little evidence of broad anti-incumbent turbulence in the states Democratic delegation.
Massachusetts Democrats also picked former Biden White House aide Dan Koh to succeed Moulton in the open 6th Congressional District. Kohs victory gives the delegation a new face, but it did not come at an incumbents expense as Moulton vacated the seat for his unsuccessful Senate bid, creating the districts first open-seat contest without an incumbent on the ballot in decades.
TOP DEMOCRAT SURVIVES DOUBLE-BARRELED CHALLENGE AS PARTYS ISRAE
