2026 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

For related races, see 2026 United States Senate elections.

Not to be confused with 2026 Massachusetts Senate election.

2026 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

←  2020 November 3, 2026 2032 →

Party Democratic Republican

Incumbent U.S. senator Ed Markey Democratic

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. Primary elections will be held on September 1, 2026. 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, who will be 80 years old at the time of the 2026 election, has faced calls to retire due to his age. ^[1]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• Ed Markey, incumbent U.S. Senator (2013–present) ^[2]
• Seth Moulton, U.S. Representative for Massachusetts's 6th congressional district (2015–present) and candidate for president in 2020 ^{[3] [4]}
• Alex Rikleen, history teacher ^[5]

Publicly expressed interest

• Earl Phalen, nonprofit CEO ^[6]

Potential

• Ayanna Pressley, U.S. Representative for Massachusetts's 7th congressional district (2019–present) ^{[7] [8]}
• Michelle Wu, Mayor of Boston (2020–present) ^[9]

Declined

• Jake Auchincloss, U.S. Representative for Massachusetts's 4th congressional district (2021–present) (running for re-election) ^[10]

Endorsements

Ed Markey

U.S. senators

• Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts (2013–present) ^[11]

U.S. representatives

• Katherine Clark, Massachusetts's 5th congressional district (2013–present), House Minority Whip (2023-present) ^[12]
• Jim McGovern, Massachusetts's 2nd congressional district (2013–present) ^[13]
• Richard Neal, Massachusetts's 1st congressional district (1989–present) ^[14]

Statewide officials

• Andrea Campbell, attorney general of Massachusetts (2023–present) ^[15]

State legislators

• Nick Collins, state senator from the 1st Suffolk district (2018–present) ^[12]
• Marc Pacheco, former state senator from the 1st Plymouth and Bristol district (1993–2025) ^[16]
• Michael Rodrigues, state senator from the 1st Bristol and Plymouth district (2011–present) ^[16]
• Sal DiDomenico, state senator from the Middlesex and Suffolk district (2010–present) ^[17]
• Pat Jehlen, state senator from the 2nd Middlesex district (2005–present) ^[17]
• William Brownsberger, president pro tempore of the Massachusetts Senate (2019–present) from the 2nd Suffolk and Middlesex district (2012–present) ^[17]
• Michael J. Barrett, state senator from the 3rd Middlesex district (2013–present) ^[17]
• 29 state representatives ^{[16] [12] [17]}

County officials

• Paul Heroux, sheriff of Bristol County (2023–present) ^[16]
• Marian Ryan, Middlesex County District Attorney (2013–present) ^[16]

Labor unions

• National Association of Government Employees Local 5000 ^[18]

Organizations

• Christopher Street Project ^[19]

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of September 30, 2025
Candidate	Raised	Spent	Cash on hand
Ed Markey	$4,099,317	$3,210,652	$2,540,642
Seth Moulton	$385,564	$203,543	$2,032,359
Alex Rikleen	$29,835	$19,160	$10,675
Source: Federal Election Commission [20]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Ed Markey	Seth Moulton	Alex Rikleen	Other	Undecided
Data for Progress (D) [21]	October 23–26, 2025	652 (LV)	± 4.0%	53%	34%	–	–	13%
UMass Amherst/YouGov [22] [A]	October 21–29, 2025	416 (LV)	± 6.1%	51% [b]	28%	6%	1% [c]	14%
				44%	25%	5%	1% [c]	25%
Advantage, Inc. (R) [23] [B]	September 23–24, 2025	278 (LV)	± 3.6%	30%	38%	–	–	32%

Hypothetical polling

Ed Markey vs. Ayanna Pressley

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Ed Markey	Ayanna Pressley	Undecided
Advantage, Inc. (R) [23] [B]	September 23-24, 2025	278 (LV)	± 3.6%	34%	37%	28%

Ed Markey vs. Seth Moulton vs. Ayanna Pressley vs. Alex Rikleen

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Ed Markey	Seth Moulton	Ayanna Pressley	Alex Rikleen	Other	Undecided
UMass Amherst/YouGov [22] [A]	October 21–29, 2025	416 (LV)	± 6.1%	35% [b]	25%	21%	5%	1% [c]	19%
				31%	24%	20%	4%	1% [c]	24%

Seth Moulton vs. Ayanna Pressley vs. Michelle Wu vs. Joseph P. Kennedy III vs. Jake Auchincloss vs. Alex Rikleen

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Seth Moulton	Ayanna Pressley	Michelle Wu	Joseph P. Kennedy III	Jake Auchincloss	Alex Rikleen	Other	Undecided
UMass Amherst/YouGov [22] [A]	October 21–29, 2025	416 (LV)	± 6.1%	29% [b]	24%	19%	11%	6%	6%	1% [c]	4%
				26%	23%	17%	9%	5%	3%	1% [c]	16%

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

• John Deaton, attorney and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2024 ^{[24] [25]}

Declined

• Charlie Baker, president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (2023–present) and former Governor of Massachusetts (2015–2023) ^[26]
• Michael Soter, state representative from the 8th Worcester district (2019–present) ^[27]

Other candidates

Party for Socialism and Liberation

Filed paperwork

• Joe Tache, organizer ^[28]

Independent

Filed paperwork

• Morgan Dawicki ^[29]
• Philip Peter Devincentis Jr. ^[30]

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Inside Elections [31]	Solid D	August 12, 2025
The Cook Political Report [32]	Solid D	October 14, 2025
Sabato's Crystal Ball [33]	Safe D	August 12, 2025
Race To The WH [34]	Safe D	September 4, 2025

Polling

Hypothetical polling

Ed Markey vs. Charlie Baker

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Ed Markey (D)	Charlie Baker (R)	Other	Undecided
UMass Amherst/YouGov [35] [A]	February 14–20, 2025	700 (A)	± 4.8%	35%	33%	–	33%
MassINC Polling Group [36]	October 29 – November 1, 2024	582 (LV)	± 4.9%	34%	40%	7% [d]	19%

Ed Markey vs. John Deaton

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Ed Markey (D)	John Deaton (R)	Other	Undecided
SurveyUSA [37] [C]	February 28 – March 4, 2025	775 (RV)	–	45%	26%	–	30%

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear
2. With voters who lean towards a given candidate
3. "Would not vote" with 1%
4. "Would not vote for Senate" & "Another candidate" with 3%; "Prefer not to say" with 1%

Partisan clients

1. Poll sponsored by WCVB
2. Poll sponsored by the Fiscal Alliance Foundation
3. Poll sponsored by the Massachusetts Responsible Alliance

References

1. Keller, Jon (October 20, 2024). "Is it time for Ed Markey to step aside? Chairman of Massachusetts Democrats weighs in". CBS News . Retrieved December 4, 2024.
2. Medsger, Matthew (October 27, 2024). "Ed Markey says he will seek a third term in 2026, when he will be 80 years old". Boston Herald .
3. Brodey, Sam (September 23, 2025). "Seth Moulton believed to be weighing 2026 primary challenge to Ed Markey". The Boston Globe . Archived from the original on September 24, 2025. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
4. "Moulton launches challenge to Markey, arguing Democrats can no longer afford to 'follow same old playbook' - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
5. Garrity, Kelly (May 30, 2025). "Meet Markey's primary challenger". Politico . Retrieved June 5, 2025.
6. Medsger, Matthew (June 4, 2025). "Another potential Ed Markey challenger emerges calling for fresh perspective". Boston Herald . Retrieved June 6, 2025.
7. Garrity, Kelly (September 24, 2025). "Why Moulton v. Markey wouldn't be Kennedy v. Markey". Politico . Retrieved September 27, 2025.
8. Wu, Nicholas; Garrity, Kelly (November 4, 2025). "Ayanna Presley is considering a Senate run in Massachusetts". Politico . Retrieved November 4, 2025.
9. Battenfeld, Joe (October 21, 2025). "Battenfeld: What is ambitious Michelle Wu up to?". Boston Herald. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
10. Brodey, Sam (September 17, 2025). "Auchincloss rules out Markey challenge to focus on leading new national Democratic group". The Boston Globe . Retrieved September 17, 2025.
11. Stout, Matt (June 25, 2025). "In early show of political muscle, Ed Markey gets Elizabeth Warren's endorsement". The Boston Globe . Retrieved June 25, 2025.
12. "Sen. Collins and Rep. Hunt join latest group of Markey endorsers | Dorchester Reporter". Dorchester Reporter. September 22, 2025. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
13. Castellano, Jessie (July 31, 2025). "This Local Congressman Endorsed Sen. Ed Markey For Reelection". Patch Media . Retrieved July 31, 2025.
14. Micek, John (July 8, 2025). "Western Mass.'s most powerful pol endorses Ed Markey's 2026 reelection bid". The Republican . Retrieved July 8, 2025.
15. Micek, John L. (October 23, 2025). "All the right friends: Mass AG Campbell endorses Sen. Ed Markey for reelection". MassLive.com . Retrieved October 23, 2025.
16. Garrity, Kelly (July 1, 2025). "Markey marks his territory". Politico . Retrieved July 1, 2025.
17. Garrity, Kelly (October 9, 2025). "Galvin wades into congressional crypto fight". Politico . Retrieved October 12, 2025.
18. "Beacon Hill's credit check". Politico . November 3, 2025. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
19. Garrity, Kelly (October 30, 2025). "Wu's school speech". Politico . Retrieved October 30, 2025.
20. "2026 Election United States Senate - Massachusetts". fec.gov. Federal Election Commission . Retrieved April 23, 2025.
21. "Markey Leads Moulton in 2026 Primary for Senator in Massachusetts". Data for Progress . November 5, 2025. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
22. Tenser, Phil (November 2, 2025). "UMass Amherst/WCVB poll examines how Sen. Markey fares against Democratic challengers". WCVB . Retrieved November 6, 2025.
23. "Fiscal Alliance Foundation - 750 Likely Voters" (PDF). Fiscal Alliance Foundation. October 2, 2025. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
24. Van Buskirk, Chris (May 7, 2025). "John Deaton, former challenger to Warren, considering a run against Ed Markey". Boston Herald . Retrieved May 7, 2025.
25. Van Buskirk, Chris (October 22, 2025). "GOP's John Deaton close to announcing U.S. Senate bid against Ed Markey". WBUR . Retrieved October 23, 2025.
26. Altimari, Daniela; Ellen McIntire, Mary (January 7, 2025). "An early look at potentially vulnerable senators in 2026". Roll Call . Retrieved January 7, 2025. Baker is currently the head of the NCAA and a spokesman for the organization dismissed the rumors, saying Baker is 'not running for any political office.'
27. Van Buskirk, Chris (April 29, 2025). "Bellingham Republican setting sites on potentially running for Mass. constitutional office". Boston Herald . Retrieved April 29, 2025.
28. "Form 2 for Report FEC-1880236". Federal Election Commission . Retrieved May 28, 2025.
29. "Morgan G Dawicki | Independent Candidate for U.S. Senate". votemgd.com. March 21, 2025. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
30. "Form 2 for Report FEC-1880236". Federal Election Commission . Retrieved May 28, 2025.
31. "Senate Ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
32. "2026 CPR Senate Race Ratings". Cook Political Report. Retrieved February 11, 2025.
33. "2026 Senate ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
34. "2026 Senate Forecast". Race to the WH. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
35. Medsger, Matthew (February 26, 2025). "Charlie Baker 'does not intend to run' for Senate, despite poll showing him right on Ed Markey's heels". Boston Herald . Retrieved April 29, 2025.
36. "The MassINC Polling Group - Survey of 582 likely voters in Massachusetts" (PDF). Squarespace . November 1, 2024. Retrieved April 29, 2025.
37. "Once Messaging is Shared, Republican John Deaton Leads Democrat Ed Markey in MA 2026 US Senate Race, Despite Deeply Unpopular Trump". SurveyUSA. March 6, 2025. Retrieved April 29, 2025.

External links

Official campaign websites

• Ed Markey (D) for Senate
• Seth Moulton (D) for Senate
• Alex Rikleen (D) for Senate
• Joe Tache (PSL) for Senate