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 15, 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]
• Alex Rikleen, history teacher ^[3]

Publicly expressed interest

• Earl Phalen, nonprofit CEO ^[4]

Potential

• Seth Moulton, U.S. Representative for Massachusetts's 6th congressional district (2015–present) and candidate for president in 2020 ^[5]
• Ayanna Pressley, U.S. Representative for Massachusetts's 7th congressional district (2019–present) ^[6]

Declined

• Jake Auchincloss, U.S. Representative for Massachusetts's 4th congressional district (2021–present) (running for re-election) ^[7]

Endorsements

Ed Markey

U.S. senators

• Elizabeth Warren, U.S. senator from Massachusetts (2013–present) ^[8]

U.S. representatives

• Jim McGovern, U.S. representative from Massachusetts's 2nd congressional district (2013–present) ^[9]
• Richard Neal, U.S. representative from Massachusetts's 1st congressional district (1989–present) ^[10]

State legislators

• Marc Pacheco, former state senator from the 1st Plymouth and Bristol district (1993–2025) ^[11]
• Michael Rodrigues, state senator from the 1st Bristol and Plymouth district (2011–present) ^[11]
• 13 state representatives ^[11]

County officials

• Paul Heroux, sheriff of Bristol County (2023–present) ^[11]
• Marian Ryan, Middlesex County District Attorney (2013–present) ^[11]

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of June 30, 2025
Candidate	Raised	Spent	Cash on hand
Ed Markey (D)	$4,099,317	$3,210,652	$2,540,642
Alex Rikleen (D)	$29,835	$19,160	$10,675
Source: Federal Election Commission [12]

Republican primary

Candidates

Publicly expressed interest

• John Deaton, attorney and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2024 ^[13]

Declined

• Charlie Baker, president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (2023–present) and former Governor of Massachusetts (2015–2023) ^[14]
• Michael Soter, state representative from the 8th Worcester district (2019–present) ^[15]

Other candidates

Independent

Filed paperwork

• Philip Peter Devincentis Jr. ^[16]

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Inside Elections [17]	Solid D	August 12, 2025
The Cook Political Report [18]	Solid D	August 18, 2025
Sabato's Crystal Ball [19]	Safe D	August 12, 2025
Race To The WH [20]	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 [21] [A]	February 14–20, 2025	700 (A)	± 4.8%	35%	33%	–	33%
MassINC Polling Group [22]	October 29 – November 1, 2024	582 (LV)	± 4.9%	34%	40%	7% [b]	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 [23] [B]	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. "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 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. Garrity, Kelly (May 30, 2025). "Meet Markey's primary challenger". Politico . Retrieved June 5, 2025.
4. Medsger, Matthew (June 4, 2025). "Another potential Ed Markey challenger emerges calling for fresh perspective". Boston Herald . Retrieved June 6, 2025.
5. Garrity, Kelly (September 17, 2025). "An inside challenge". Politico . Retrieved September 18, 2025.
6. Garrity, Kelly (April 24, 2025). "The Durbin reverb". Politico . Retrieved July 9, 2025.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. Castellano, Jessie (July 31, 2025). "This Local Congressman Endorsed Sen. Ed Markey For Reelection". Patch Media . Retrieved July 31, 2025.
10. Micek, John (July 8, 2025). "Western Mass.'s most powerful pol endorses Ed Markey's 2026 reelection bid". The Republican . Retrieved July 8, 2025.
11. Garrity, Kelly (July 1, 2025). "Markey marks his territory". Politico . Retrieved July 1, 2025.
12. "2026 Election United States Senate - Massachusetts". fec.gov. Federal Election Commission . Retrieved April 23, 2025.
13. Van Buskirk, Chris (May 7, 2025). "John Deaton, former challenger to Warren, considering a run against Ed Markey". Boston Herald . Retrieved May 7, 2025.
14. 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.'
15. Van Buskirk, Chris (April 29, 2025). "Bellingham Republican setting sites on potentially running for Mass. constitutional office". Boston Herald . Retrieved April 29, 2025.
16. "Form 2 for Report FEC-1880236". Federal Election Commission . Retrieved May 28, 2025.
17. "Senate Ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
18. "2026 CPR Senate Race Ratings". Cook Political Report. Retrieved February 11, 2025.
19. "2026 Senate ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
20. "2026 Senate Forecast". Race to the WH. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
21. 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.
22. "The MassINC Polling Group - Survey of 582 likely voters in Massachusetts" (PDF). Squarespace . November 1, 2024. Retrieved April 29, 2025.
23. "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
• Alex Rikleen (D) for Senate