Politics

Massachusetts voters head to the polls for midterm primaries

Incumbent Senator Ed Markey faces a primary challenge from Representative Seth Moulton, highlighting the party's progressive and moderate divide.

Updated Aug 31, 2026 · 18:23 UTC1 reports

The short version

Voters in Massachusetts are casting ballots in primary matchups for the U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor, and various state and local positions.
The most prominent contest is the Democratic Senate primary, where the progressive incumbent, 80-year-old Senator Ed Markey, is challenged by 47-year-old moderate Representative Seth Moulton.
Ahead of the primary, approximately 468,000 ballots had already been cast early or by mail.

The Democratic Senate primary features incumbent Sen. Ed Markey, the second-oldest sitting U.S. senator seeking reelection in 2026, against Representative Seth Moulton.[PBS NewsHour]
Markey has raised and spent more than $8 million, whereas Moulton has raised and spent more than $6 million.[PBS NewsHour]
Markey's campaign has received endorsements from progressives such as Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, while Moulton has been endorsed by The Boston Globe and other Democratic House colleagues.[PBS NewsHour]
As of February 2025, Massachusetts had about 5 million registered voters, consisting of about 1.3 million Democrats, 423,000 Republicans, and 3.3 million unaffiliated voters.[PBS NewsHour]
As of the Thursday prior to the election, approximately 468,000 voters had already submitted early or mail-in ballots.[PBS NewsHour]