ARLINGTON, Massachusetts — Seth Moulton, with feet planted and hands waving, is making his closing pitch to voters in Massachusetts. The congressman has a little under two weeks to rally the troops. But the final sprint of this primary could prove the most blistering. “This is going to be a tough race,” Moulton told the camera, recording a social video flanked by New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who recently backed him. Moulton’s primary challenge to stalwart Sen. Ed Markey, he argues, is the next ripe ground for change. Across the country, legacy politicians have been felled by primary challengers running on generational turnover, often ending political careers spanning decades. Moulton, 47, wants to ride that wave to kick out the 80-year-old Markey, who’s served two terms in the Senate and 20 in the House before that. Their race has increasingly been marked by sharp barbs and debate exchanges where each has accused the other of flip-flopping, lying about their voting records and improperly disclosing their finances. They’ll take their final direct shots tonight in the last primary debate before the Sept. 1 election. But the charge for change might hit a wall here in Massachusetts. Three consecutive public polls in the last week put Markey ahead of Moulton by double digits. Most striking is in Suffolk University’s polling with the Boston Globe, Markey’s age makes no difference to 49 percent of voters polled. “The polling is totally off. You can’t trust polling,” Moulton told reporters yesterday. “What matters in these elections is who turns out.” Allies close to Moulton pointed to David Crowley’s victory in Wisconsin’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, where he defied pre-primary polls and fended off democratic socialist Francesca Hong’s insurgent campaign to claim a decisive victory. Moulton’s closing pitch isn’t just about age, he told Playbook in an interview. Speaking to a roundtable of veterans at the American Legion Post 39 in Arlington, he pitched a vision of building a bloc of Democratic fighters in the Senate who could pressure the administration to end military operations in Iran and “fire” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Democrats need “credible voices” in the Senate — someone like, say, a Marine Corps combat veteran, he told Playbook. “Democrats didn’t do enough to hold the first Trump administration accountable,” he said after the roundtable. “We can no longer just expect that a better president, a better administration, will do the right thing. If we haven’t learned that lesson, that’s a real problem.” Moulton and Markey don’t diverge greatly when it comes to policy. Moulton appears unfazed by the waves of progressives who’ve come out on top in Senate races, including Angie Nixon in Florida on Tuesday. He aligned with some moderates in the House, and has taken heat and walked back comments on trans athletes in sports. But he repeated to Playbook that “there are two progressives in this race.” Markey told Playbook in a statement he’s taking his campaign across the state in the final stretch, “talking directly with voters about the challenges they’re facing, and working to earn every vote.” He’s focused on a “progressive agenda that lowers costs, creates good-paying jobs, tackles crushing student debt, and protects a livable planet.” And Markey is backed by some of the leading progressive voices — including Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders, and as of this morning, the especially choosy Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). For his part, Moulton scored the Globe editorial board’s nod of approval, and vouching from several of his Serve America PAC alums, including Sherrill. In a taste of the final case Moulton will make in tonight’s debate, the congressman flexed his Serve America bonafides, with a subtle jab at Markey. “I’m not someone who is interested in going to Washington to hang out. I want to get things done,” he said. “And by the way, after that, I'll retire.” Good Thursday afternoon. This is Ali Bianco. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Send me your tips at abianco@politico.com.
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