Markey and Moulton make final pitch to voters in lively third debate

With less than two weeks until the Democratic Senate primary, Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Seth Moulton met on the debate stage Thursday night for their final showdown. 

Markey, an 80-year-old incumbent and avowed progressive, is working to fend off a 47-year-old challenger who has historically hewed closer to the ideological center. The race grew more contentious in recent weeks, with two previous debates providing many opportunities for the candidates to get a leg up. 

Polling numbers released this week show Markey with a substantial lead, raising the stakes even further for Moulton. 

The debate, co-hosted by WCVB, WBUR, and The Boston Globe, elicited a few heated exchanges. 

Here are three takeaways. 

Fighting to be seen as a fighter

Each candidate portrayed themselves as the ultimate standard-bearer for Democratic ideals and the best prepared to oppose the Trump administration.

On multiple topics, Markey made the case that he had passed or sponsored legislation that would drive the country toward a more liberal future. Moulton, meanwhile, repeatedly told his opponent that that past work has simply not been enough. 

Markey leaned into his progressive bona fides, making many references to the high-profile progressives who have endorsed him. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez officially endorsed Markey earlier Thursday, giving him a late boost from a longtime ally. Markey made sure to reference Ocasio-Cortez twice when answering a question about energy costs, speaking about their collaboration on “Green New Deal” legislation. Markey also namedropped Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Rep. Ayanna Pressley throughout the debate. 

Asked how Democrats should “course correct” after the midterms, Markey said that the party needs to become even more progressive. He continued to push for Medicare for All, a topic where Markey has sought to differentiate himself from his opponent. Moulton says he supports “universal healthcare, and would like to see “Medicare for all who want it.”

Both candidates strongly denounced ICE, calling for the agency to be abolished. They spoke about traveling to areas like Minnesota, Maine, and the local ICE field office in Burlington to stand with those opposing ICE’s enforcement efforts. 

Moulton stressed the need to hold DHS officials in the Trump administration accountable by prosecuting them. Democrats made a mistake by not being willing to go far enough down this road after President Donald Trump’s first term, he said. Immigration enforcement should return to the Department of Justice, Moulton added. 

Both Markey and Moulton said that Democrats should defend diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives under attack by the Trump administration. They repeatedly spoke about the need to end the war in Iran as soon as possible, blaming it in part for the high cost of energy. 

AI questions show similarities, differences

Late in the debate, questions about artificial intelligence highlighted both the similarities in policy positions between Markey and Moulton as well as the generational divide between them. 

Asked where the bulk of AI regulation should happen, Markey said that national legislation will be needed in the long-term to rein in the powerful technology and the companies that profit from it. But right now, Markey believes that individual communities should be able to veto the construction of data centers and states should have agency to protect themselves from the “deleterious, sinister side of AI.”

Moulton also wants residents to be able to veto data center construction. Federal regulations will be needed, but state and local laws have an important role to play, he said. Mistakes were made in “failing to regulate the internet,” Moulton said, and the country cannot afford to repeat that playbook. 

As a follow-up, each candidate was asked if they personally use AI platforms in their day-to-day work.

“I use whatever is inside of my iPhone and my iPad, whatever comes up and I don’t know what companies my iPad might be using,” Markey said. 

Moulton said he does use AI carefully before turning the question into an age-related attack. 

“With all due respect, senator, if you don’t even know what you’re using on your phone or your iPad, this is why we need a new generation of leaders to regulate these technologies,” Moulton responded. 

Markey argued that safeguards should be built around all AI-related technologies, and that “it doesn’t make any difference whether it’s called Siri or it’s called Claude.” 

Moulton asked his opponent how the US would be able to effectively regulate big tech if he can’t “tell the difference between big tech programs.” 

Transgender participation in youth sports

Once again, Moulton’s past comments about the participation of transgender athletes in youth sports generated a pointed back-and-forth. 

“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,” Moulton told The New York Times in 2024 for a story about the Democrats’ response to Trump’s election victory.

Moulton has apologized for his comments before, and did so again on the debate stage. He spoke about transgender people being “under assault” by the federal government. 

“If you are someone who is feeling the weight of this administration, I want you to know that you belong, you matter, and I will have your back,” Moulton said. 

Moulton reiterated his stance that the comments were not made to denigrate anyone, but to push Democrats to have a spirited debate over the topic. Moulton was then asked specifically whether transgender athletes should be allowed to take part in girls sports. 

“I think they should, with a discussion about where we have to have issues of safety and fairness,” Moulton said. 

Markey said unequivocally that transgender athletes should be allowed to participate in girls sports. 

“Congressman Moulton threw those kids under the political bus after the election of 2024. He just turned them into political fodder that made them afraid,” Markey said.