Saw this story this morning and thought it might be of interest to DK readers — obviously for ones in the commonwealth.
You may recall I wrote about democratic US house representative Seth Moulton announcing a primary challenge to US senator Ed Markey a few weeks back.
Markey was my rep before he was my senator. He is not a headline grabber, he is a progressive. Why is he drawing a primary? A few reasons I think… he is 79. He is not a great orator nor does he grab headlines… Moulton is ambitious and sees an opportunity to run against his age, with a claim he isn’t standing up to trump and isn’t progressive enough.
ok that’s my take on it…although it strikes me as disingenuous for Moulton to try to run to the left of Markey.
what do the polls say about Markeys worthiness?
so what do the polls say when Moulton is named?
More than 45 percent of likely primary voters surveyed said they would choose Markey, 79, in next September’s primary, compared to 22 percent who say they would pick Moulton, a 47-year-old Salem Democrat.
www.bostonglobe.com/...
Ouch. 22 % has got to hurt. But Markey is polling less than 45%. The undecideds clock in at 31%
Interestingly polling shows democrat US house representative Ayanna Pressley, she of the “squad”, polls better then Moulton or Markey in a match up that includes her.
Note: she has not announced but she has not ruled out a run.
In a hypothetical three-way primary, voters gave Pressley an edge over Markey, 35 percent to 34 percent, with Moulton fading to 16 percent, the survey found. The poll of roughly 230 Democratic primary voters had a margin of error of plus or minus 6.5 percentage points.
www.bostonglobe.com/...
Ok big caveats here. Very early. Hypothetical matchup. Plus or minus 6.5%…
But it feels right to me.
if I was asked to vote today, Markey vs Moulton, I’d hesitate only over Markeys age before filling in the oval next to his name.
But Pressley? I’d hesitate out of respect for Markeys steadfast service, thank him, and then choose Pressley.
the article quotes a voter who seems to feel the same way
Among those backing Markey, for now, is Timothy Tynan, a 60-year-old Democrat from Springfield who said he “would have to be convinced to vote against Markey.”
“We need stalwart defenders of democracy,” said Tynan, who added he would be interested in seeing Pressley, 51, jump into the race. “We need people to make noise.”
www.bostonglobe.com/...
in any case it’s early and other than Moulton no-one has announced as a challenger or is actually campaigning…at least that I see.
a link to a related globe article with full poll results below
www.bostonglobe.com/…
hey — I’ve had trouble with globe links recently -these should be gift links….let me know if the fail for you.
