Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley is weighing a campaign for the U.S. Senate, a move that could set up one of the most closely watched Democratic primaries in the country next year. According to four people familiar with the conversations, Pressley has been reaching out to allies in recent weeks to gauge support for a potential challenge to Senator Ed Markey.
Pressley, 51, would enter a race that already includes Rep. Seth Moulton, who launched his campaign last month. Moulton, 47, has positioned himself as the candidate of generational change, arguing that Markey’s nearly five decades in Congress make him out of step with the party’s future. But Pressley, who first gained national prominence after unseating longtime Rep. Mike Capuano in 2018, brings a different kind of challenge—one rooted in the same progressive politics that helped Markey fend off Joe Kennedy III four years ago.
A new University of Massachusetts Amherst poll released Monday shows Markey with an early edge but not an insurmountable one. Among likely Democratic voters, Markey led with 35 percent support, followed by Moulton at 25 percent and Pressley at 21 percent. The survey’s six-point margin of error suggests a fluid race still taking shape, especially if Pressley formally declares.
For now, her team is sticking to the script. “The Congresswoman remains focused on ending Republicans’ government shutdown, serving her district, and effectively fighting back against the White House’s attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, Black and brown folks, federal workers, and our immigrant neighbors,” Pressley spokesperson Ricardo Sánchez said Tuesday.
Pressley’s reputation as a disciplined campaigner and dynamic speaker has made her one of the party’s most recognizable figures. She’s part of the original “Squad” in Congress, alongside Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib, and has built a national base of small-dollar donors and progressive activists.
If she runs, Pressley will start at a financial disadvantage. Federal Election Commission filings show she had roughly $148,000 cash on hand at the end of the last quarter, compared to Markey’s $2.7 million and Moulton’s $2.1 million. Markey, 79, is also a fixture in Massachusetts politics, first elected to Congress when Pressley was two years old.
Pressed on her political future while campaigning in Boston on Tuesday, Pressley deflected. “I’m just very focused right now on how to mitigate the harm of this shutdown and get the government reopened,” she told reporters.
Markey, who has spent nearly 50 years in public office, is expected to lean on his environmental record and close ties to progressive groups if challenged. But Pressley’s potential bid could scramble the dynamics of the race, pulling support from voters who see her as a bridge between the state’s progressive base and younger, more diverse coalitions.
