Even though the polls showed U.S. Sen. Ed Markey beating his Democratic challenger, U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, by 30 points or more, I figured the final tally would be closer — like maybe on the order of 18 points. That in itself would have been a drubbing, and given that Moulton is a standard-issue moderate liberal, I thought it unlikely that he’d fall any lower.
As it turned out, the polls were right. Markey won by just a shade under 30 points (64.9% to 35.1%), which suggests that Moulton had alienated a large proportion of the Democratic base.
Moulton ran a terrible campaign, but if I had to point to one factor that stood out, it was his false, sleazy accusation that Markey had some sort of tie to Jeffrey Epstein. In a low-turnout primary dominated by highly motivated, well-informed voters, that destroyed any chance Moulton might have had of a late comeback.
I’d be curious to know the thought process that led Moulton to go scorched-earth in a campaign in which he was always the longest of longshots. I suspect he’s done enormous damage to his future prospects for electoral office, although I suppose he could always run for president again.
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This from in-person attendance at two Moulton campaign events. When asked about the $1+ trillion per year going to the Pentagon in light of infrastructure in this country getting a grade of “D+” and on military support for Israel, his response was, “I voted for the Pentagon budget because first, I want to see our troops get paid,” and “Of course we have to support Israel.
Markey voted “No” on the Pentagon spending, i.e. utter waste, and “Yes” on the Bernie Sanders resolutions condemning arms sales to Israel.
So just what “new” and “progressive,” not to mention just plain right and sensible, was Moulton offering? He just wanted the keys to the car to drive to the same destination.
There was a Moulton-aligned PAC ad that played frequently during Red Sox games that I found just awful and seemed to perfectly portray the Moulton candidacy, such as it was. I can’t find a version of the ad online, but I feel like I have it memorized. It starts with a woman from Boston frowning and saying “Ed Markey should retire on a high note” and continues with a series of clips of “regular voters” all saying that it’s time for someone new. But, except for one smiling young woman from Springfield who comes across really well, the rest of these clips show old suburban folks who seem just kind of unhappy and sour. If you spend any time in local politics, you’re familiar with the archetype of the upset resident speaking up at Town Meeting or a Select Board meeting to grumble about something — maybe/probably having a valid point, but coming off way too hot and argumentative and going on way too long. Aside from that one young woman (who probably would have made an effective ad on her own), the people in that ad perfectly conveyed that “I’ve owned my house on Stone Road for 25 years and you people have some nerve…” energy. I’ll never understand why anyone thought this would be a successful ad. And it was played incessantly.