AOC Backs Markey in Senate Battle

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) threw her support behind Sen. Ed Markey on Thursday, injecting progressive star power into a Massachusetts Senate primary he now leads by nearly 30 points, hours before the candidates' final debate.

Ocasio-Cortez cited her legislative "partnership on the Green New Deal" with Markey in a statement from his campaign, backing the 80-year-old incumbent as he fends off Rep. Seth Moulton in the September 1 primary. Ocasio-Cortez has endorsed just one other contested Senate primary candidate this cycle, Michigan's Abdul El-Sayed.

The endorsement comes just before Markey and Moulton's third and final debate Thursday night, co-hosted by WBUR, WCVB and the Boston Globe, two weeks before voters decide the nomination.

Recent polling:

• Markey 60%, Moulton 32% — UMass Amherst/WCVB poll, Aug. 5-12
• Markey 52%, Moulton 38% — Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll, Aug. 5-12

Both surveys mark a sharp reversal from a University of New Hampshire poll earlier this summer that had Markey ahead by just 6 points, and both landed the same week the Globe's editorial board broke with its own newsroom to endorse Moulton, arguing the party needs a break from entrenched incumbency. Moulton has also picked up New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill's backing, while Markey holds Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

The race has turned personal, with Moulton accusing Markey of ties to the Epstein files, a charge Markey denies, and both men sparring over family finances and military records.

With Markey up as much as 20 points since early summer, Ocasio-Cortez's backing may lock in progressive voters before the Massachusetts primary.