Overview
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez publicly backed Senator Ed Markey, citing their partnership on the Green New Deal and calling him an inspiration for progressive voters.
- The endorsement was announced hours before Markey and Seth Moulton's third and final Democratic primary debate and comes less than two weeks before the Sept. 1 primary with early ballots already in.
- Recent polls show Markey holding a consistent lead over Moulton, including a Suffolk University/Boston Globe survey that put him ahead by 14 percentage points.
- Seth Moulton has deployed outside surrogates to try to close the gap, including New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill campaigning in Massachusetts to press his case for generational change.
- AOC’s 2020 role in Markey’s upset over Joe Kennedy III and her selective endorsements this cycle make her late intervention strategically notable and could affect late-deciding voters and turnout dynamics.