In Massachusetts, incumbent Sen. Ed Markey is once again facing a stiff primary challenge, with Congressman Seth Moulton looking to unseat his fellow Democrat.
Touting his progressive roots, Markey has said if he wins, his next term will be his last. Moulton, meanwhile, says he’s looking to bring fresh ideas to the senate.
On Wednesday, The two faced one another in western Mass. for their first Democratic primary debate.
Facing off in Chicopee, both Markey and Moulton took their fair share of shots, albeit in short bursts, amid each 60-second answer and 30-second rebuttal they were given.
Yet, the tone was largely cordial, even as the senator chastised Moulton’s private equity investments, and the representative returned fire.
“We need a real change of direction and what Congressman Moulton has done is he has taken advantage of sweetheart deal opportunities, which private equity companies have given to him - to invest in companies like Oura and Divergent that appear before his Armed Services Committee…”
Markey said, while answering a question about his own age and what he made of critics pointing it out.
“… sadly, Senator Markey has invested in 14 companies that [have appeared] before his committee, and he's refused to disclose his family's finances,” Moulton later retorted (Markey would claim he had simply invested in mutual funds, which can be made up of different stocks and bonds).
Like any debate, resumes were rolled out quickly at the WWLP-TV studio.
The 79-year-old Markey is a longtime member of congress, who, after working in the U.S. House for almost 40 years, made the leap to the senate in 2013.
He’s gone on to become one of the more progressive members of the senate – his support for Medicare for All and the Green New Deal being hallmarks.
“My goal is to continue to fight for every family, to make sure every child has a very strong floor and an unlimited ceiling - we're going to need health care and education money in order to accomplish that goal,” he stated.
Now, after fending off another eastern Mass. representative during 2020’s primaries, he’s facing another: Seth Moulton, the 47-year-old and 6th district congressman from Salem who previously served in the Marine Corp. and is now looking to close a polling gap between him and the incumbent.
“A lot of people in Massachusetts feel like they don't have a voice in our politics when they're struggling to afford basic needs,” he said. “We need a fighter. We need someone who's going to change the playbook, invest in a new generation of leaders and start making Democrats win again.”
A June University of New Hampshire poll found Markey ahead of Moulton, 41-35, but also 23 percent of respondents stating they were undecided.
Markey’s lead is also half of what it was in an April UNH poll.
This, compared to 2020’s primary with then-Rep. Joe Kennedy III – when Kennedy led some polls early in the race before Markey broke away and led by double-digits by the end of the summer.
Like the last contest, Wednesday’s debate featured the incumbent touting his progressive causes, including multiple plugs for Medicare for All. It also featured Markey striking at Moulton’s past comments on trans athletes in the shadow of last week’s Supreme Court decision affirming various state bans targeting them.
“… after the 2024 election, Congressman Moulton decided that he was going to throw trans kids under the bus - the political bus - and blame them for the loss of the 2024 election,” Markey said. “Those kids are vulnerable, those kids need love: those kids don't need to be scapegoated and blamed for what was wrong with the Democratic Party.”
The 2024 comments involved Moulton stating he did not want to see his daughters “run over” by a “male or formerly male athlete” on an athletics field. Moulton says there was more to what he was saying at the time: that he was criticizing his party’s way of discussing trans issues – one that seemingly avoids “tough conversations.”
“… and you're right, they need love and they need support, but they also need action and if we're not willing to have these conversations, which is what I said - I said we need to be able to have these conversations as Democrats, sometimes tough conversations,” Moulton said. “… that's the only way we're going to be able to fight forward, because, so far, the only thing that's happened in this congress is the Republicans have put forward hateful legislation, and I've been proud to vote against every one of those bills…”
Speaking of bills, Moulton also spent part of the debate honing in on causes and legislation Markey’s has backed, but ultimately reach the finish line.
“… I stand with President Obama in supporting universal health care through Medicare for all who want it… I just don't want to take away health care plans from unions and others who have fought hard to get the health care that they want,” Moulton said. “I'm a proud co-sponsor of the Green New Deal, but with all due respect, senator, you promised voters last time that if you were elected, you would pass the Green New Deal. The Green New Deal has fewer co-sponsors today than it did back then…”
He also took aim at Markey’s support for the state’s east-west (west-east) rail efforts - the extensive project to bring reliable passenger rail service between Springfield and Boston and, eventually, Pittsfield and Albany, New York.
Moulton, a vocal supporter of high-speed rail, criticized Markey’s support for the current plans that are both years off and feature trains running at speeds that don’t keep up with various modern rails across the world.
Markey, however, emphasized his record of securing money for infrastructure across the state, and that more funding will be coming for the state’s rail project.
“It's not just western Mass. that I have fought for, for that infrastructure money - it is community after community when they requested the funding,” the senator said. “Whether it's dredging Plymouth Harbor or Salem Harbor or Boston Harbor, I've been able to get that infrastructure money, and western Massachusetts, as well, is going to receive the money for West East Rail.
This year’s primary is Sept. 1. The winner is likely to face Republican John Deaton in the general election. UNH polling shows both candidates leading the contender by double-digits.
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Audio for this story was provided by WWLP-TV.
