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Ed Markey defeats Joe Kennedy in Massachusetts Democratic Senate primary

Photo: Scott Eisen/Getty Images

Sen. Ed Markey won the Massachusetts Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate on Tuesday evening, fending off a bitter challenge from Rep. Joe Kennedy, AP reports.

Why it matters: The power of the Kennedy name in Massachusetts wasn't enough to overcome the incumbency advantage and progressive credentials of Markey, the co-author of the Green New Deal.

Background: The race captured a unique generational dynamic between the Democratic Party's progressive and establishment wings.

  • 74-year-old Markey was backed by progressive champions like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), while the 39-year-old Kennedy earned endorsements from party leaders like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
  • Pelosi served with Markey in the House for 25 years, before he was elected to the Senate in 2013 during a special election to replace former Sen. John Kerry, who had been nominated as Secretary of State.
  • Kennedy, the grandson of former Attorney General Bobby Kennedy and grand-nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, was elected to the House in 2012. He is the first Kennedy to lose a statewide race in Massachusetts.

The big picture: Even though Markey is an incumbent, his win is considered a big one for the progressive movement, which has seen mixed results this election cycle.

  • Progressive Jamaal Bowman defeated 16-term incumbent Rep. Eliot Engel in NY-16's Democratic primary in June.
  • Establishment favorite Amy McGrath defeated progressive state Rep. Charles Booker in Kentucky's Democratic U.S. Senate primary the same month.

Go deeper

Oriana Gonzalez
Dec 3, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney elected chair of House Democrats' campaign arm

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) on Thursday was elected chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for the 2022 cycle, narrowly defeating Rep. Tony Cardenás (D-Calif.) 119 to 107, Politico reports.

Why it matters: Maloney will be tasked with protecting House Democrats' slim majority in 2022 after they underperformed in November's election, losing seats in down-ballot races across the country.

Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
Amy Harder, author of Generate
Dec 3, 2020 - Energy & Environment

Nuclear power subsidy sign of climate debate to come

Illustration: Rebecca Zisser/Axios

A bipartisan Senate bill subsidizing existing nuclear power plants and backing new kinds of such technology passed a congressional committee on Wednesday.

Why it matters: It won’t become law before year’s end, but it’s likely to resurface in 2021 as an example of the type of bipartisan compromise expected under a divided Congress with President-elect Joe Biden in the White House.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Russell Contreras
41 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Resurrecting Martin Luther King's office

King points to Selma, Alabama on a map at his Southern Christian Leadership Conference office in Atlanta in January 1965. Photo: Bettmann/Getty Contributor

Efforts to save the office where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., planned some of the most important moments of the civil rights movement are hitting roadblocks amid a political stalemate.

Why it matters: The U.S. Park Service needs to OK agreements so a developer restoring the historic Prince Hall Masonic Lodge in Atlanta — which once housed King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference — can tap into private funding and begin work.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow

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