Massachusetts Sen． Ed Markey will defeat challenger Rep． Seth Moulton in Democratic primary， AP projects
In Massachusetts＇ Democratic Senate primary， the Associated Press projects incumbent Sen． Ed Markey will win．
Markey， an 80-year-old progressive， staved off a challenge by Rep． Seth Moulton， a 47-year-old Marine Corps veteran from Salem who is a member of the moderate New Democrat Coalition．
The race between Markey and Moulton was defined by the generational divide between the two members of Congress． Moulton argued that it was time for a new generation to represent the state in Washington， especially regarding issues such as artificial intelligence， while Markey， who first went to Washington as a House member in 1976， stood by his track record and said he was more energized than he had ever been．
Markey， who was endorsed by Sens． Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren as well as Rep． Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez， is expected to face Republican John Deaton in November．
This is the second Senate primary in a row in which Markey defeated a younger Democrat． In 2020， Rep． Joe Kennedy III ran against Markey， but lost．
Moulton rose to prominence in 2018 after unsuccessfullyattemptingto block Nancy Pelosi from regaining her position as speaker of the House．At the time， he also argued that it was time for a new generation of leadership．
＂He likes to roll the dice，＂ Raymond La Raja， a political science professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst， told ABC News ahead of the primary． ＂He evenran for presidentat one point． And here＇s another instance of him rolling a dice against an incumbent in this Senate race．＂
While Markey and Moulton agreed on many issues， such as abolishing U．S． Immigration and Customs Enforcement （ICE）， Moulton placed the generational divide between him and Markey at the center of the Senate primary race．
＂We need the generation that grew up with the internet and is going to have to live for decades with the consequences of AI to chart the way forward，＂ Moulton said during a debate in August hosted by ABC affiliate WCVB．
Markey said he had been the leader on internet and artificial intelligence safeguards． In March， he introduced the Youth AI Privacy Act．
＂I just want to say it doesn＇t make any difference whether it＇s called ＇Siri＇ or it＇s called ＇Claude，＇＂ Markey said during the debate while emphasizing the need for widespread protections．
Moulton responded， ＂How are we going to effectively regulate and keep big tech accountable if you can＇t even tell the difference between big tech programs？＂
Rachael Cobb， an associate professor of political science at Suffolk University in Boston， told ABC News ahead of the primary that while Moulton was trying to make his understanding of technology a focus of his campaign， his base remained Democrats who were on the more moderate end of the party．
＂Those kinds of things that happen in debates do not change the outcome of an election generally， especially when the polling is so wide between the two of them，＂ Cobb said．
Polling released last week by the University of New Hampshire found that 63% of likely Democratic supporters supported Markey， with 28% backing Moulton．
Incumbent moderate Democrats running in primary races around the U．S． have been facing tough challenges from younger， more progressive candidates for nearly a decade， from Ocasio-CortezdefeatingRep． Joe Crowley in New York in 2018 to Rep． Diana DeGettelosingher Colorado primary this past June to democratic socialist Melat Kiros．
In Massachusetts， the Democratic Senate primary was one of several races taking place Tuesday．
In the 8th Congressional District in Boston and some of its South Shore suburbs， longtime moderate Democratic Rep． Stephen Lynch was being challenged by Patrick Roath， a progressive attorney．
North of the city， half a dozen candidates were seeking the Democratic nomination for Moulton＇s soon-to-be-former seat in the 6th Congressional District．
In the 1st Congressional District primary in western Massachusetts， Democratic Rep． Richard Neal， who has been in Congress since 1989， faced off against teacher Jeromie Whalen．
The most prominent Republican race on the ballot Tuesday was the gubernatorial primary． Voters were deciding whether Mike Minogue or Brian Shortsleeve， each veterans with significant business experience， will be the Republican nominee to take on Democratic Gov． Maura Healey， who is running unopposed in the Democratic primary， in November．
Early voting in Massachusetts concluded last Friday．
