Markey tops Gomez in MA special election
Rep. Edward Markey cruised to victory in the Massachusetts special election to fill the unexpired term of Secretary of State John Kerry.
Markey got 55% of the vote while his GOP challenger, former Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez received 45%.
His victory in the deep-blue state was almost universally expected: Gomez a former Navy SEAL and investor, never caught fire despite his attempt to portray himself as a new kind of moderate Republican. And Democrats went all out to avoid another GOP upset, pouring in millions of dollars and sending some of the party's top surrogates to the state to campaign for Markey, including President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton.
Markey galvanized left-leaning voters by attacking Gomez for opposing abortion rights and an assault weapons ban. In his victory speech, the senator-elect also cited issues now at the forefront of the president's agenda.
"I will fight for immigrant families reaching for the American dream," he said. "And I will fight to preserve our planet for generations to come. ... I want, as you want, a 21st century that is more educated, more prosperous and more fair than the 20th century was."
The 66-year-old, who has been in the House since 1976, will replace interim Sen. Mo Cowan. The seat opened up in January when Kerry was confirmed as secretary of state.
Republicans might have done better if former Sen. Scott Brown, who lost to Elizabeth Warren last November, decided to run. But he took a pass in order to pursue business opportunities and sign on as a Fox News contributor.
![]()
About 1.2 million people voted. That's only 27 percent turnout, half the 54 percent turnout rate in the January 2010 special.
Markey is one of the last "Watergate babies" who came into the House in 1975 following Nixon's resignation in August, 1974. That class of 1975 altered politics and the House of Representatives forever. Politics became more divisive, more partisan while the entire committee and sub committee structure of the House was overturned, dispersing power and making it harder for party leaders to control members.
As for Gomez, I hope he stays visible. He is an up and comer in the state, although it is doubtful he will ever catch on with the right nationally. This has been a valuable experience for him and one would expect him to do better the next time he runs for statewide office.
Ad Free / Commenting Login
FOLLOW US ON
Recent Articles
- From Churchill to Vance...Sounding Off About Tyranny
- Globalist Games: They Play, We Pay
- Scorched-Earth Disease Control
- NATO, Ukraine, and the War Hawks’ Pixie Dust Playbook
- On XY in XX’s Sports, Whoopi G. Opens Her Mouth—and Removes All Doubt
- Donald Trump’s Return: A Foreign Policy Reset After Biden’s Weakness
- The Danes and the Greenlanders: How They See Trump's America
- The USAID Case: Judge Amir Ali’s $2 Billion Defiance Escalates
- Terrifying Tariffs: Tax Policy as Back-Door Foreign Aid
- Dr. Marty Makary’s ‘Blind Spots’ Book Is At Odds With Established Findings
Blog Posts
- We’re not living in a Smoot-Hawley world, and smart tariffs will benefit America
- Full-throated support for DOGE comes from an unexpected quarter
- A conversation with the BBC about Mahmoud Khalil
- Transgender activists disrupt detransitioners’ event at Vermont statehouse
- Trump signals that action, not soft power, is the way to go
- ‘Conservative influencers’ host OnlyFans girl on their podcast, immediately exploit her trauma… while wearing Jesus shirts
- The Trump presidency and the return of courage
- District judge orders Trump to reemploy recently fired bureaucrats
- Schumer caves on shutdown after Dem private lunch erupted in a shouting match
- It's amendment-decorating season in Oregon
- UN climate change conference to be held in Amazon rainforest, trees sacrificed
- I’m all broken up about Mahmoud Khalil’s rights
- Destruction's defenders
- Go away, Randi
- After blowing $9 billion on 'free' health care for illegals, California's Gov. Gavin Newsom asks for a bailout