In once tight Senate race, incumbent Markey surges ahead of Kennedy, as voters go to polls Tuesday

Massachusetts voters head to the polls Tuesday to vote in a hotly-contested Senate race in which incumbent Sen. Ed Markey appears to have opened a significant lead on challenger Rep. Joe Kennedy.

Kennedy, a member of the Kennedy political family dynasty, has the support of arguably the most powerful Democrat in Washington, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Markey has the backing of some the party's most progressive leaders including New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and fellow Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Markey and Ocasio-Cortez teamed up in 2018 on what is considered the most progressive policy measure in the past several years, the Green New Deal clean energy initiative. 

Kennedy says his party needs a new voice on a number of social issues, particular racial justice. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, Kennedy has been seen volunteering across the state, mask on, sleeves rolled up. 

The RealClearPolitics.com polls average shows Markey now leading by more than 11 percentage points.

Responding to a question about his new status as an underdog in the race, Kennedy said last week, "With all due respect to any pollster at the moment, I wouldn't trust any of them. I don't trust my own."

"Our internal modeling shows a very tight race and – most critically – one that is trending in Joe's direction in the final stretch. From the start of this campaign we have known our path to victory lies in our ground game," the Kennedy campaign said last week. 

The decision by Pelosi to endorse Kennedy, who worked in the House with Markey for 25 years, broke with precedent and was followed by a surge in poll numbers and fundraising for Markey. Progressive New York congressional Democratic candidate Jamaal Bowman saw a similar thing happen when his primary opponent, incumbent Rep. Eliot Engel, received an endorsement from Hillary Clinton in the spring. 

Kennedy, 39, has served in the House since 2013, the same year Markey, 74, joined the Senate after a quarter-century in the House.