Markey, 80, Wins What He Says Is His Final Term, and a Democratic Senate Could Hand Him a Committee Gavel

U.S. Sen. Ed Markey won another six-year term Tuesday, defeating Republican John Deaton in a race called early in the night, WBUR reported.

With 81 percent of the vote counted, Markey had 1,384,546 votes, or 63.8 percent, to Deaton's 687,377, or 31.7 percent, according to CBS Boston's AP results. Markey ran slightly ahead of Gov. Maura Healey's vote total statewide. In Boston, Markey won 78.19 percent, according to the city's unofficial results.

Markey, 80, has said this will be his last term; he will serve until he is 86, WBUR reported. He was first elected to the U.S. House in 1976 and won his first Senate race in a 2013 special election to succeed John Kerry.

The concession

"The voters have made their voices heard tonight, and I respect their decision," Deaton said in a statement, according to WBUR. "While I disagree with the path forward, I wish Senator Markey only success in his final six-year term. His service to the Commonwealth is historic in its length and impact on our people."

Deaton, 59, a Marine veteran and moderate Republican who has spoken about overcoming poverty and a painkiller addiction, said he never voted for Trump, WBUR reported. It was his second Senate bid; he lost to Sen. Elizabeth Warren two years ago.

"The challenge for me is to get people to look beyond the [Republican] label. But it is a big hurdle," Deaton told WBUR before the election. He argued Markey had been in office too long. "Markey's had 53 years of elected office. If he was going to accomplish the things that he's promising, he would've done it by now," he said. "Why not give someone else a chance?"

How Markey ran

Markey sought to tie Deaton to Trump in a state that has rejected the president by consecutive 2-to-1 margins, WBUR reported. "I'm going to Washington to be a check on Donald Trump. Mr. Deaton is going to Washington to be a blank check for Donald Trump," Markey said in their only debate.

Markey won the September Democratic primary over Rep. Seth Moulton, 48, who argued Markey was "too old" and called for "generational change," WBUR and CBS Boston reported. Markey answered, "It's not your age that matters, it's the age of your ideas."

"This is the most energized I've ever been," Markey told WBUR. "Donald Trump brings out the Malden in me every day, and I fight him every day."

At a "Wicked Blue" watch party at the Fairmont Copley Plaza in Back Bay, Markey told supporters, "Gas prices are up, grocery prices are up, tariffs are up, health care premiums are up. And the anger of the American voters is up," GBH News reported. "A new day is rising in America," he said.

At his own gathering in Weymouth, Deaton called the result "disappointing" and urged Markey to think about "healthcare, housing, energy, vocational training" and artificial intelligence, "and not be so focused on partisan politics," GBH reported. Just under 8 percent of the state's registered voters are Republicans, and about 67 percent are unenrolled, according to state data cited by GBH.

Benjamin Schneer, an associate professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, told GBH that the national climate "would prove too much to overcome for almost any candidate."

Markey co-sponsored the Green New Deal, supports Medicare for All and wants higher taxes on millionaires and billionaires, WBUR reported. He was endorsed by Warren, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

What changes for him in January

Democrats won control of the Senate on Tuesday. WBUR reported that with a Democratic majority, Markey is positioned to lead the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Committee assignments are set by the party caucus when the new Congress convenes, and no announcement had been made.

Healey's reelection and Markey's win came as Democrats flipped seven Senate seats nationally, including seats in Maine and Texas, according to Ballotpedia.

Campaign manager Cam Charbonnier said Markey's record on issues from universal health care to holding the Trump administration accountable made him "the embodiment of Massachusetts values," WBUR reported.

Groton voter Nancy Muller told WBUR: "I know he's getting up in years, but I've watched him on the campaign trail and he's very active and he's firing on all cylinders."

What is not known

Markey has not said when he might announce plans for a successor or whether he will endorse one. The vote totals are unofficial until certified by the Secretary of the Commonwealth.