Markey reelected, vows ‘epic fight' for his progressive agenda

Celebrating his reelection after a cycle that called attention to his age and years in Congress, Democratic U.S. Sen. Ed Markey sought to infuse a sense of urgency in pursuing his progressive agenda over the next six years.

“Our work is not done tonight. There is an epic fight before us,” Markey, who has said this will be his last term in office, told a room full of Democratic supporters. “In the weeks ahead, in January, with a new Congress and until we get Donald Trump out of the White House and we make GOP stand for ‘Get Out Permanently.'”

Markey’s win gives him another six years in office to chase policies he has called for including his “Transgender Bill of Rights” to ensure legal recognition and equal treatment for transgender people; the Green New Deal he co-sponsored in 2019 that aims to reduce climate pollution; Medicare for All; universal childcare; paid sick leave for all workers; free community college; ending what he called an “illegal and immoral war in Iran” and “an end to bombing in Gaza.”

“This must be our agenda, our progressive agenda in the next Congress,” he told the crowd. “Yes, most national election results are still coming in this evening. But no matter the outcome, I am never giving up, you are never giving up on our Massachusetts values.”

The ranking member of the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Markey also said he would provide more support for Black businesses. If tapped as the committee’s chairman under a Democratic majority, Markey has said his “number one bill” would be the SPARK Act that aims to boost access to capital for entrepreneurs from underserved communities.

Asked by the News Service about what his ability to deliver on his policy priorities would mean for the next Congress, Markey said, “Well, we have to restore what’s been cut and then imagine the future for our country.”

Markey will be 86 by the end of his next term in office and the Malden Democrat has actively stumped for candidates in and out of Massachusetts who share his progressive priorities.

Joe Reardon, who said he worked on one of Markey’s first political campaigns in the 1970s, said he’d like to see progress on climate legislation, boosting the economy and investigating President Donald Trump.

“We’re living in such a corrupt state right now,” Reardon said. “Not the state of Massachusetts – a corrupt country and that just needs to be dealt with. So, I’d love to see some very solid oversight.”

Markey bashed Trump as a “walking, talking constitutional crisis” while separating his supporters from the president’s.

“And we will win. Because on every issue we are right and Trump is wrong,” Markey said. “We can watch the darkness grow and give up, or we can fix it.”

He also said that Tuesday night’s election results – which he said showed Democrats picking up key U.S. House and Senate seats – signal voters are rebuffing Republicans’ agenda.

“I think there’s a real message that’s being sent to MAGA Republicans all across the country that your agenda is being rejected by ordinary families and their kitchen tables all across our nation,” he said.

Markey beat Bolton Republican John Deaton, who said that while he respects the voters’ decision and wished Markey well, he disagrees “with the path forward.”

“America has always been stronger when we put aside our differences and follow the threads that we share — a lesson I relearned writing my own story. In that spirit, I remain hopeful that the next U.S. Senate will forge a new path with the U.S. House of Representatives and White House to deliver the change we desperately need,” Deaton said in a statement.

In remarks to supporters in Weymouth, Deaton said he would “be OK, but I can tell you, people are losing hope out there.”

“And I just hope our elected leaders start doing the right thing. You know, you had more in common with your neighbor who voted differently than you in the presidential election than you had with these people. Donald Trump and and Ed Markey had more in common than they have with us,” Deaton said. “I can tell you, I have met Trump voters who are the greatest Americans I’ve ever met, and I’ve met Kamala Harris voters who are great Americans. It’s true. We don’t have to hate each other, and I just hope we get back to listening to each other.”