During their third and final debate in the Massachusetts Democratic U.S. Senate primary, incumbent Sen. Ed Markey and U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton highlighted their ideological similarities while drawing sharp contrasts regarding their ages, past legislative records, and approaches to technology.
“We should have age limits for Congress,” argued 47-year-old Moulton. Markey, who is 80, countered that his opponent “has a hard time keeping up with me in the course of this campaign.”
Asked by panelist and Boston Globe columnist Adrian Walker about their personal use of artificial intelligence, Markey noted he simply uses “whatever comes up” on his phone and computer. In contrast, Moulton emphasized being “very careful about how to use it” and advocated for strict congressional regulations.
“Senator, if you don’t even know what you’re using on your phone or your iPad, like this is why we need a new generation of leaders to regulate these technologies to make sure that they are safe,” Moulton responded.
The debate was cohosted by WCVB-TV, WBUR-FM, and The Boston Globe, with PolitiFact collaborating alongside WCVB-TV to verify several claims made during the event. Below is a breakdown of those key moments.
Moulton: “You would hear from Massachusetts residents that their electricity bills are too high. They’re literally twice as high as the national average.”
Moulton’s statement is mostly accurate.
Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that in May, Massachusetts’ average residential electricity rate stood at 28.82 cents per kilowatt-hour, roughly 1.5 times the national average of 18.44 cents.
When asked for clarification, the Moulton campaign pointed to a March report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. That report put the state’s rate at 25.56 cents per kilowatt-hour against a national average of 13.63 cents, making it nearly 1.9 times higher.
Energy rates fluctuate continuously due to shifting seasonal demand and wholesale fuel expenses, explaining the slight variance in the newer May figures. While electricity costs in the state are undeniably high, they trail behind Hawaii, California, New York, and Rhode Island, with California holding the highest continental rate at 33.25 cents per kilowatt-hour, according to local energy data platform Choose Energy.
Moulton: Markey’s “proudest piece of legislation is the 1996 Telecom Deregulations Act that opened the door to big tech having no accountability, to kids literally dying on the internet through social media.”
Markey replied that he authored the Child Online Privacy Protection Act and “that’s how families can sue Google, sue YouTube if their kids have been harmed,” and that his legislation passed the Senate Commerce Committee “so that kids don’t get addicted to these chatbots.”
Markey did co-author the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which contains a widely known provision shielding social media companies from legal liability regarding user-generated content. Often referred to as the “twenty-six words that created the internet,” the law prevents platforms from being treated as the publisher or speaker of outside information.
Legal reviews have noted that certain platform-recommended content has indirectly contributed to severe youth injuries, hospitalizations, and crimes against children.
While Markey authored the 1998 Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act during his time in the House, he exaggerated its legal reach. The legislation established data privacy standards for children under 13—giving rise to the standard online age minimum—but it does not allow private families to sue tech companies directly for damages. Only federal regulators and state attorneys general possess the authority to file lawsuits over violations, although a 2003 appeals court ruling confirmed the federal statute doesn’t block separate state-level lawsuits.
More recently, Markey introduced the Youth AI Privacy Act in March, which cleared a Senate committee in August to mandate human-identity warnings on chatbots interacting with minors alongside limits on addictive design features.
Markey, when asked if transgender athletes should be allowed to participate in girls’ sports: “Yes, I do. That is the law in Massachusetts, and I think it’s the correct law.”
Markey’s characterization of state law is correct.
The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association—representing over 380 schools and 220,000 student-athletes—operates under state anti-discrimination laws that have been expanded to cover gender identity. Backed by Department of Elementary and Secondary Education guidelines, students are permitted to participate in sports matching their gender identity rather than their birth-assigned gender, provided rosters are not manipulated to secure competitive advantages.
Regarding Markey’s assertion that the U.S. Supreme Court stripped protections in states without local mandates, the high court ruled in June that state-level bans on transgender athletes in school sports are constitutional under Title IX. However, the ruling did not force states like Massachusetts to abandon their existing inclusive policies.
Markey: After the U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025, Moulton voted against an impeachment resolution that was “brought onto the floor of the United States Senate,” and in December 2025, Moulton “voted for the trillion-dollar defense budget.”
Moulton: “Senator Markey, I’m not in the Senate, so I didn’t vote on an impeachment resolution in the Senate, and I voted against the defense bill after the war in Iran started.” Markey “voted to start the Iraq War.”
The candidates clashed over the conflict in Iran initiated by President Donald Trump, which both men oppose. Here are the facts behind their claims:
Impeachment votes: The House addressed two impeachment votes during Trump’s second term prior to the war’s outbreak on Feb. 28, with Moulton casting differing votes each time. In June 2025, he joined the Democratic majority to table Rep. Al Green’s impeachment motion. By December 2025, he voted against tabling a subsequent measure by Green, aligning once more with the majority of House Democrats to keep the discussion alive.
Defense budget votes: Markey’s criticism is selective. Congress splits defense legislation into two categories: appropriations bills, which allocate funding, and authorization bills, which outline administrative policies without directly paying for operations. Moulton did vote for a policy authorization bill in December 2025 that included oversight provisions. However, when actual defense-spending appropriations measures came up in July 2025, January 2026, and February 2026—as well as an earlier June authorization bill—Moulton voted against them.
Iraq war vote: Moulton’s critique of Markey’s past record is accurate. Markey voted to authorize the 2003 invasion of Iraq under President George W. Bush, a decision Markey publicly characterized as a “mistake” earlier this year.
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