Incumbent Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) challenged his Democratic primary opponents on Monday to participate in a climate change debate in lieu of the Democratic National Committee’s decision to forgo holding a climate change-specific debate for the presidential candidates.
“I was very disappointed at the Democratic National Committee’s refusal to hold a debate on climate change for our presidential candidates,” Markey said in a campaign video. “In Massachusetts, we should do better than that.”
The Massachusetts senator called out three of his declared primary challengers — Brookline lawyer Shannon Liss-Riordan, New Bedford businessman Steve Pemberton, and newly declared candidate Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-MA) — to debate him on the issue “very soon.”
“I’m asking environmental groups in Massachusetts, who have shown the greatest commitment to fighting climate change, to sponsor this debate and to establish a format that will provide the best opportunity for voters to hear from all of the candidates,” Markey said. “For the next generation, we can’t wait, so we’re suggesting a debate the week of November 11, following Veterans Day and the municipal elections.”
Markey was first elected to Congress in 1976 and subsequently won his Senate seat during a special election in 2013. He is perhaps best known for co-authoring the “Green New Deal” in 2019, along with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
While Democrats have largely rallied in support of the Green New Deal, it has proven to be a wedge issue among voters due to its radical policy prescriptions. With a goal of moving toward net zero emissions over a 10-year period, the proposal calls to “totally overhaul transportation by massively expanding electric vehicle manufacturing, build charging stations everywhere, [and] build out high-speed rail at scale where air travel stops becoming necessary,” according to the now-deleted section of Ocasio-Cortez’s website.
The expansive climate and economic justice package notably failed to receive even a single vote in the Senate when it was brought to the floor. Ocasio-Cortez, however, endorsed Market’s re-election to his seat in 2020, referring to him as one of the Senate’s “strongest progressives.”
Markey’s challenge comes only two days after Kennedy officially launched his bid to unseat the 73-year-old senator. The race could be the toughest that Markey has faced thus far in his political career. Leaked polling from Kennedy’s campaign revealed that the 38-year-old congressman already has an edge over Markey — a sentiment with which many political analysts also seem to agree.
Kennedy is a member of the famed political dynasty — he is the grandson of the late U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and the son of former Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II (D-MA). To date, no one in his family has lost an election in the Bay State.
Markey and Kennedy are largely aligned ideologically and the primary race has been portrayed as a referendum on age and personality over substance.
“I thank all of my opponents in advance, and all of the people of Massachusetts who show me every day how committed they are to fighting the climate crisis,” Markey said. “Together, we can save our planet.”