USA Today

Who are you voting for in Tuesday’s primary: Ed Markey or Seth Moulton?

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Massachusetts Democrats head to the polls Sept. 1 to decide the party’s nominee for U.S. Senate. Which candidate has your vote?

US Representative Seth Moulton, left, speaks as Senator Ed Markey, right, looks on during a live, televised debate between the Democratic candidates for the US Senate, at WCVB in Needham on Thursday, August 20, 2026. (Ken McGagh for The Boston Globe)

Sen. Ed Markey is seeking a third full term against a primary challenge from U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, and the race has turned into one of the most closely watched Democratic primaries in the country this cycle. We want to know: how are you voting?

At its center is a generational fight: Markey, 80, has spent nearly five decades in Congress, while Moulton, 47, has made the case that it’s time for new leadership, pointing to Markey’s age and tenure as reasons voters should look elsewhere. Moulton has built his campaign primarily around that argument, framing the race as a choice between the past and the future of the Democratic Party. Markey, meanwhile, has leaned into his long progressive record rather than run from his tenure, casting himself as the more experienced and more consistently left-leaning candidate in the race.

The result is a primary that doesn’t split cleanly along the usual moderate-versus-progressive lines. Instead, it’s forced Massachusetts Democrats to weigh generational change against experience. Does Markey’s decades-long record outweigh concerns about his age, or is Moulton’s argument for new leadership enough on its own, given that the two candidates agree on much of the underlying policy?

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday.


  • What Massachusetts voters need to know before the Sept. 1 primary

We want to hear from readers: Who are you voting for, and why? Is it about age, ideology, or something else entirely? 

Tell us by filling out the form or e-mailing us at [email protected], and your response may appear in a future Boston.com article.


  • We asked GOP gubernatorial candidate Brian Shortsleeve about abortion, ICE, and affordability. Here’s what he said.

Profile image for Annie Jonas

Annie Jonas is a Community writer at Boston.com. She was previously a local editor at Patch and a freelancer at the Financial Times.

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