Massachusetts U.S. Senator Ed Markey has defeated Republican challenger Kevin O'Connor to secure his second full term.
After winning a contentious Democratic primary over Congressman Joe Kennedy III in September, polls showed Markey with an almost 40-point lead over Republican challenger Kevin O’Connor – a Dover lawyer with no prior political experience.
Markey campaigned in Pittsfield last week just after voting against the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett to rally Democrats before a particularly fraught Election Day.
“We are not agonizing, we are organizing. We know that much is at stake from protecting healthcare for hundreds of thousands of Americans with pre-existing conditions to fighting for a living wage for every person across the country, to taking bold climate action to save our planet. We need to ensure a future where every person is free to make their own healthcare decisions, where our leaders believe in science and where the NRA stands for Not Relevant Anymore in American politics.”
Markey – who served in the House from 1976 until 2013 – was first elected to the Senate in a special election after John Kerry was appointed Secretary of State, and then won a full term in 2014.