Rep. Ayanna Pressley to seek re-election, won't run for Senate

• Unlike Pressley, 51, a high-profile member of the progressive "Squad," Moulton is known as a centrist.
• Pressley's decision will likely make it easier for Markey to consolidate the state's substantial progressive voting bloc.

What they're saying: "Hearing from so many people from throughout our Commonwealth encouraging me to run for the United States Senate was deeply humbling," Pressley said in a statement.

• She added: "But with our daughter in her last year at home before college and a district that has been in the crosshairs of this White House, I am certain that the Massachusetts 7th is where I belong in this moment."
• "That's why I'm running for re-election to the House of Representatives," Pressley said.
• Pressley's statement was first reported by the Boston Globe.

Between the lines: Polls have shown Pressley in a strong position against Markey and Moulton, with a Suffolk University poll last month even placing her narrowly ahead.

• But she is a close ideological ally of Markey and a run would have risked dividing the state's progressives at a time when Democrats' two ideological wings are locked in heated battles across the country.