The 2026 United States Senate election in Massachusetts will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Incumbent two-term Democratic Senator Ed Markey, was re-elected in 2020 with 66.2% of the vote and is running for re-election to a third full term. Markey, dean of New England's congressional delegation and the longest-serving Democrat in Congress having served since 1976, will be 80 years old on election day. If reelected, Markey, the ninth oldest member of the Senate, would be older than any candidate ever elected to the United States Senate from Massachusetts in the history of the Commonwealth upon being sworn in. Massachusetts is one of only fifteen states to have an older junior senator and a younger senior senator.
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In 2020, Markey faced a competitive primary for the Democratic nomination from Kennedy Family scion Joe Kennedy III, who sought to cast the then-74-year-old Markey as someone out of touch after spending decades in Congress, first in the U.S. House of Representatives before moving on to the Senate.[1] Kennedy lost the primary by roughly ten percentage points; an elected senator has not been defeated in a primary since Richard Lugar in 2012, and an elected Democrat has not been defeated in a primary since Joe Lieberman in 2006. A recent poll found a majority of Massachusetts voters think 78-year-old Markey is too old to serve.[2]
Democratic primary
editCandidates
editDeclared
editRepublican primary
editCandidates
editPotential
edit- Charlie Baker, president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (2023–present) and former Governor of Massachusetts (2015–2023)[4]
General election
editPolling
edit| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Charlie Baker |
Ed Markey |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MassINC Polling | October 29 – November 1, 2024 | 582 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 40% | 34% | 3% | 19% |
Notes
edit- ^ Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear
References
edit- ^ LeBlanc, Steve (September 1, 2020). "Joe Kennedy III concedes defeat to US Sen. Edward Markey". WEYI-TV. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
- ^ Keller, Jon (2024-10-20). "Is it time for Ed Markey to step aside? Chairman of Massachusetts Democrats weighs in". CBS News. Retrieved 2024-12-04.
- ^ Medsger, Matthew (27 October 2024). "Ed Markey says he will seek a third term in 2026, when he will be 80 years old". Boston Herald.
- ^ Medsger, Matthew (2024-11-04). "Baker has an edge on Markey, if he'd run". Boston Herald. Retrieved 2024-11-15.