Markey, Moulton face off in western Massachusetts primary debate

Tim Dunn, Boston Herald on Jul 8, 2026

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Sen. Ed Markey and Congressman Seth Moulton faced off Wednesday in a western Massachusetts primary debate, hitting on everything from Markey’s age to Moulton’s stance on trans athletes to President Trump and issues focused on the region.

The debate aired on WWLP-TV, featuring five local journalists who alternated in asking the two candidates questions. Both Moulton and Markey were given 30 seconds to respond to each question, as well as a 30-second rebuttal.

Markey vs Moulton vs Trump

As expected, when Markey and Moulton weren’t clashing with each other, both Democrat candidates quickly pivoted to criticizing President Trump, congressional Republicans and the MAGA movement in general, along with highlighting their efforts to fight against them.

It took both Markey and Moulton less than five seconds to mention Trump while answering their first question — which was on Markey’s old age as he runs for yet another six-year Senate term.

The incumbent senator took just three seconds to mention Trump by name while defending his age, highlighting his record in combating Trump’s policies and those of Republicans during his 50-plus years on Capitol Hill.

Moulton, when asked the same question, took five seconds to bring up the president, also highlighting his efforts to battle Trump’s agenda.

Both candidates mentioned Trump, Republicans or the MAGA movement in nearly every answer they gave during the debate while promoting their respective records in fighting against Trump policies, while denigrating their opponent.

Markey defends his old age

Markey, who turns 80 this week, defended his old age as he runs for another six-year term as an octogenarian, saying that he still feels young and spry. He added that the focus should really be on defeating “the worst of Washington,” throwing Trump and Moulton into that category.

“We need the worst of Washington to be in the rearview mirror. We need to be looking ahead to the issues that every single family wants to have fought for, and that’s what I do every single day on the floor of the United States Senate,” Markey said after attacking Moulton on alleged insider trading, saying the six-term congressman has made “sweetheart deals” with defense contractors that have sat before the House Armed Services Committee — where Moulton has a seat.

“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,” said Markey. “And he’s been allowed to invest in those funds, and he has now reaped millions of dollars of opportunities from those investments.”

Moulton took a seemingly cautious approach to providing any harsh criticism of Markey’s age, instead expressing the respect he has for Markey’s half-century of service in Washington before going on to claim that the “current establishment just isn’t working,” adding that “we need new ideas and a new playbook.”

Moulton would continue to take subtle shots at Markey’s age throughout the debate, repeatedly referring to what he describes as the inefficiency of the “current establishment” in Washington.

Moulton’s 2024 comments on trans athletes

The candidates were also asked about comments Moulton made in November 2024 regarding trans athletes competing in girls and women’s sports.

Moulton had stated that he doesn’t want his daughters “getting run over on the playing field by a male or formerly male athlete.” He was criticized nationally by Democrats, including the state Democratic party, for the comments. He originally defended his opinion before later walking the comments back.

“Let me be clear to anyone out there listening tonight, anyone in the LGBTQ community or anyone else: I stand with you because I’ve always stood with you. And I have seen the pain that you are going through because of this hateful Trump administration,” Moulton said when pressed on what his stance is on the trans issue. “This is a crisis and I’m very proud of the fact that I have a 100% voting record from the Human Rights Campaign. I have your back because I’ve always had your back, and I will have them in the future.”

Markey in response said Moulton threw “trans kids under the bus” after the Democrats lost in 2024.

“There’s a clear difference between my record and Congresswoman Moulton’s,” Markey said. “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. 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 debate also touched on other topical national issues like the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian immigrants, the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America in the Democratic Party, foreign policy, and more.

The conversation also diverged into regional issues relating to funding for western Massachusetts hospitals, east-to-west Commuter Rail connecting the region to Boston, each lawmaker’s records in securing federal funding for the region, and more.

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