Incumbents won in Massachusetts Dem primaries, reversing trend of far-left challengers winning elsewhere

Massachusetts Democrats were very good to incumbents in Tuesday’s primary, reversing a trend that saw far-left challengers oust several members of Congress in other states.

In the Bay State’s marquee race, 80-year-old Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) defeated Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), who called for generational change, an argument that has resonated elsewhere—including in neighboring Connecticut—but not in Massachusetts.

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Like many other progressives, Markey has been critical of Israel. Moulton announced last October that he would return campaign contributions from AIPAC and would no longer accept the pro-Israel group’s support.

Markey had a more liberal voting record than Moulton and gained the support of lawmakers like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who have backed anti-establishment candidates elsewhere.

Six years ago, Markey easily defeated then-Democratic congressman Joe Kennedy III, who made a similarly unsuccessful argument for putting someone younger in the job.

Dan Koh, a former White House aide under President Joe Biden, won the primary to succeed Moulton in the House.

Two incumbents defeated challengers who criticized them for their support of Israel.

House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) defeated two left-wing challengers who tried to make an issue of her support from AIPAC: Jonathan Paz, an educator and former City Council member, and Tarik Samman, a Harvard Law School researcher and labor organizer.

And Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) beat back a challenge from Jason Poulos, an artificial intelligence and health policy researcher who called for an end to U.S. aid to Israel and criticized the incumbent for his AIPAC endorsement.

Three senior Democrats, Reps. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) and Bill Keating (D-Mass.), all beat back challenges from younger Democrats. Neal and Keating both ran with AIPAC support.

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