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.
