Ayanna Pressley the looming bigfoot in U.S. Senate race

Ayanna Pressley is the looming bigfoot in subsequent 12 months’s U.S. Senate race, able to booting out incumbent Ed Markey the identical method she toppled longtime Rep. Michael Capuano in a Democratic main problem.

If she follows the identical playbook she used on Somerville’s Capuano in 2018, Rep. Pressley will depict Markey as previous and off and herself as a part of a wave of youthful, more energizing and extra aggressive Democrats keen to tackle President Donald Trump. Her marketing campaign slogan then was “Change Can’t Wait.”

“It is a struggle for the soul of our get together, and the way forward for our democracy, at a time when our nation is at a crossroads,” Pressley stated on election night time when she gained Massachusetts’ seventh congressional district.

That very same message may resonate with liberal Democratic main voters subsequent 12 months when Markey’s seat is up for grabs in a possible three-way Democratic main.

Trump remains to be the president and Democrats are combating to win again the Home from Republicans within the 2026 mid-term election.

A brand new Suffolk College-Boston Globe ballot confirms that Pressley, essentially the most far-left member of the Massachusetts delegation, is a severe menace to the 79-year-old Markey’s political survival.

In a three-way matchup that features Rep. Seth Moulton, who has already launched his Senate candidacy, Pressley and Markey are in a useless warmth with simply over one-third of the Democratic main vote.

Moulton trails by double digits in third place and the ballot of Democratic main voters suggests he’s not the actual drawback for Markey – it’s Pressley who’s able to pulling the ultimate curtain over the incumbent’s lengthy profession in Congress, which started within the mid-Seventies.

Operating towards Markey can be an enormous danger for Pressley, who represents elements of Boston and surrounding communities, as a result of she must surrender her secure Home seat.

It’s additionally unclear whether or not she’d play statewide out of her liberal district. Pressley has taken plenty of excessive positions that would flip off extra average Democrats. The Suffolk ballot confirmed she takes voters from Markey largely within the Boston space.

However would Pressley resolve to attend 4 years when Sen. Elizabeth Warren retires? Her previous actions and phrases counsel she would make the leap subsequent 12 months and go after Markey.

“What do you count on me to do, wait?” Pressley stated in 2018 when requested why she was making an attempt to knock off Capuano.

Pressley has notably not knocked down stories that she is contemplating operating towards Markey and Moulton, and plenty of components may tip the stability in favor of a Senate candidacy subsequent 12 months.

The Democratic main citizens in Massachusetts remains to be overwhelmingly liberal and anti-Trump, which may assist Pressley, part of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s “squad.”

Pressley additionally can be the primary Black girl ever elected to the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts, a historic feat that makes her candidacy distinctive.

And if Markey thinks he’s invincible as a result of he defeated a Kennedy six years in the past, he ought to assume once more. Pressley isn’t any Joe Kennedy III.

Kennedy, then a congressman, typically struggled to say why he was operating towards Markey. The 51-year-old Pressley isn’t any shrinking violet and can have no hassle telling voters why they need to again her over Markey and Moulton.

Age can even be an enormous issue serving to Pressley. Markey seems to be previous and drained in his YouTube movies, whereas Pressley seems to be bolder and extra vibrant.

An enormous query is what progressive political teams with quite a lot of marketing campaign cash will do if Pressley takes the plunge. Will they abandon Markey for her?

Ladies’s teams like Emily’s Checklist and minority teams are more likely to again Pressley, which may give her momentum.

A Markey-Pressley-Moulton race would additionally check the loyalties of plenty of Democratic pols. What about Warren? She has endorsed Markey previously however would she nonetheless again him if Pressley is within the race? Or would she sit it out?

And what would Boston Mayor Michelle Wu do? Wu is near Pressley – they each served on the Boston Metropolis Council collectively – and there’s a very good probability she may throw her endorsement to the congresswoman.