Live results: Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey will defeat Rep. Seth Moulton in Democratic primary, CNN projects
By David Wright, Katie Doran, Rashell Marthans, CNN
(CNN) — Sen. Ed Markey will win the Democratic nomination for US Senate in Massachusetts, CNN’s Decision Desk projects, fending off a primary challenge from Rep. Seth Moulton as he seeks a third full term.
It’s one of several races in the deep-blue state Tuesday testing Democratic voters’ appetite for change in a year that has seen the defeat of multiple long-term incumbents by more progressive primary challengers.
At the top of the ballot, 80-year-old Markey cast himself as the more progressive, anti-establishment option in his showdown with Moulton, a six-term congressman who has bucked party leadership at times.
The race in the Boston-based 8th District maps more neatly along the ideological and generational divides animating this primary season, as moderate Rep. Stephen Lynch, who entered Congress in 2001, faces a well-funded, and three decades younger, challenger running to his left.
Voters are also weighing Washington, DC, experience against a desire for fresh blood in the Democratic primary to succeed Moulton. White House alum Daniel Koh, backed by former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, is running in a crowded field of candidates in Massachusetts’ 6th District. Two years after Biden dropped his reelection bid and Harris lost all seven battleground states to President Donald Trump, Koh’s candidacy will test the value of establishment ties.
See the key race results below:
Markey overcomes a generational change message
While Moulton argued that the time had come for Markey, who first joined Congress in 1976, to make way for new leadership, he was unable to convince voters.
The two clashed sharply on the subject at debates, with Moulton seizing on Markey’s recent stumble while fielding a question about AI regulations. “This is why we need a new generation of leaders to regulate these technologies,” the congressman said.
But Markey pushed back on that criticism, telling CNN, “I’ve always been the youngest guy in the world when it comes to ideas,” as he embraces resistance to the Trump administration. And he appealed to progressives in the liberal Massachusetts electorate, drawing contrasts with Moulton while pointing to his support for the Green New Deal, “Medicare for All” and transgender rights.
Markey now advances to the general election as the favorite to retain his seat in the reliably blue state against Republican John Deaton. If reelected, the senator says he will not seek a fourth term.
The-CNN-Wire
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