Ed Markey and Seth Moulton turned their second primary debate into a sharper, more personal fight on Monday in Dedham, with Moulton apologizing to transgender children and then pressing a vague allegation that Markey appeared in files tied to Jeffrey Epstein.
The hourlong debate came a month before the Sept. 1 primary and showed how far the race has moved from a routine intraparty contest. Markey, who turned 80 since the first debate, and Moulton spent much of the night accusing each other of lying, while the race itself has drawn only limited national attention outside Massachusetts.
Moulton tried to soften one of the ugliest parts of his campaign by addressing the trans community directly. “To the trans community feeling the weight and the pain of the Trump administration policies, I deeply recognize your trauma, and I’m sorry if my comments hurt you,” he said, adding, “If you’re in the trans community or you’re a trans kid feeling the weight of the Trump administration and the Supreme Court, you matter, you’re valued, and I will always have your back.”
But that apology did not settle the issue. Moulton still defended his earlier comments, saying the backlash “proves my point,” a line that kept the fight over transgender athletes alive even as he tried to reopen a door to the trans community. Markey has repeatedly used the debate to attack Moulton over those remarks, and the exchange left little doubt that the issue will keep shadowing the race until primary day.
The Epstein accusation pushed the exchange into even darker territory. Moulton made a vague claim that Markey appeared in files related to Jeffrey Epstein, and Markey answered sharply: “I have never had any relationship with Epstein. I have no business with him.” He then added, “And what you’re saying right now is actually the worst of the playbook of distraction and character assassination.” After the debate, Markey said Moulton was “channeling Senator Joseph McCarthy tonight, in making reprehensible charges, unethical charges, desperate charges from a desperate man in a campaign.”
Moulton did not back off there either. Markey returned to attacks on Moulton’s investments in the defense sector, and Moulton responded by calling him “sexist,” saying those assets were largely funded by his wife’s income and that he has since put them in a blind trust. The debate, moderated by GBH News’s Adam Reilly and Boston 25’s Kerry Kavanaugh, made plain that the contest has become less about biography than about credibility, and the race now turns on whether either man can convince Democratic voters that the other is stretching the truth too far.
For now, the unanswered question is not whether the campaign will get rougher. It already has. The question is whether the accusations over Epstein files, transgender rights and defense-sector investments will move enough voters to matter in a primary that national Democrats have largely ignored while focusing on more competitive races in Michigan and Minnesota.
