Democratic incumbent Sen. Ed Markey and Republican challenger John Deaton took to the stage in a charged debate Tuesday night, as both candidates sparred over how to hold the federal government accountable in Washington over the next six years.
Moderated by WBZ-TV’s John Keller, Markey and Deaton faced off on issues ranging from health care and energy to the influence of the U.S. Supreme Court, with Markey taking a firm stance against President Donald Trump while Deaton emphasized working with the federal administration to advocate for Massachusetts in Congress.
Deaton, 59, who has represented mesothelioma and cancer victims in the state for more than two decades and become a known advocate for cryptocurrency, first entered the political realm with an unsuccessful bid against Democratic incumbent Sen. Elizabeth Warren in 2024. He ran uncontested in the Republican primary last month.
Markey, 80, defeated fellow Democrat Rep. Seth Moulton in September’s primary, which was called by The New York Times and other outlets shortly before 9 p.m. with only 10 percent of the votes reported.
Markey and Deaton will face off in the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Throughout his campaign, Deaton has cast himself as an independent voice for Massachusetts voters, arguing that he would prioritize communities across the state if elected. He maintained the same stance during the debate and highlighted his opponent’s unmet commitments as a “career politician” in Congress.
Working with or against Trump
Whether Massachusetts’ next senator would either fight against or work with Trump was a subject of scrutiny between the candidates throughout the night.
“I’m going to Washington to be a check on Donald Trump,” Markey said during his opening statement. “Mr. Deaton is going to Washington to be a blank check for Donald Trump.”
Deaton doubled down on his claim he never voted or supported Trump, instead distancing himself from Trump and the Republican Party.
“I wear an American jersey,” Deaton said. “I call President Trump out. I’ll call a Democrat president out.”
“You are a partisan person,” he said while turning to Markey. “If they wear a Democrat jersey, you stay silent. If it’s a Republican jersey, then you’re against them.” In response, Markey pointed out the fact Deaton was running on the Republican ticket.
“He’s got an R on his jersey,” Markey argued. “He’s the Republican nominee, and he’s trying to pretend that he’s an independent and that he’s a Republican at the same time. That’s an oxymoron.”
Markey continued to tie his challenger to Trump throughout the debate, which eventually elicited a response.
“He keeps bringing up Trump,” Deaton said. “I just want to say this: every time he says Trump, it’s to dodge his despicable record of 50 years of regrets.”
Later, Deaton said he wishes Markey would take a page from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s playbook by working with the federal administration.
“Mamdani calls Trump a fascist, he calls him a misogynist [and] a racist, but then he goes to Washington and works for New York City,” Deaton said. “He invites Trump to come to New York and he still works with him.”
Deaton also noted that Trump will not be president four out of the next six-year term.
Markey responded with the claim that Trump in Washington is “a danger to a public,” and argued Democrats have to rectify the foreign relations and domestic policy the president has been “absolutely wrecking” through restoring and expanding on programs the federal administration has cut.
“That is not what Mr. Deaton is going to do,” Markey said. “He’s going to go down there, be a vote for John Thune to be the Senate Majority Leader, and then all Republicans from Ted Cruz all the way down will continue to chair these committees, and we will see no fundamental changes from what we’ve seen in the first two years of Donald Trump with a Republican-controlled Senate.”
Deaton countered by pointing to Markey’s time in both the Massachusetts Legislature and Congress, saying the senator would be ignored with his “little slogans” of ‘Medicare for All,’ ‘Abolish ICE’ and ‘tax the rich’ along with “all the things that he hasn’t done in 53 years, even with his party in control.”
Markey’s rebuttal centered on his efforts to “fight Trump every single day,” asserting his role in voting against more of the president’s nominees than any other senator and him being the first senator to call for abolishing ICE.
Expanding the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court also gained attention during the debate, particularly with how many judges should be appointed to the nation’s highest court. As of now the court leans conservative, with six Republican-appointed justices and three Democratic-appointed, led by conservative Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.
Markey said he supports expanding the Supreme Court to 13 justices to “restore the actual majority that should exist right now, six to seven, from a progressive perspective in terms of which decisions are being made.” He added that is the “only way” to restore Roe v. Wade and other protections being stripped by the conservative court.
Deaton, who firmly opposed expanding the court, responded by saying he was the “last person to be talking about a woman’s right to reproductive rights,” noting the senator’s previous support for a constitutional amendment that would ban abortion, including in cases of rape and incest. However, the senator has changed his position on abortion since voting for the measure.
“You voted for the Hyde Amendment, which took poor people’s rights away to women to have access to an abortion paid for by Medicaid,” Deaton said. “So don’t stand on this stage and act like holier than thou when it comes to women’s reproductive rights. I’m a father of three daughters. I would never do anything that takes away their rights.”
Markey referred to his endorsement from Planned Parenthood to argue he supports women across the country and blamed Senate Republicans for opposing his proposed Right to Contraception Act that seeks out protections for accessing and providing contraception.
“The Republicans caught up and opposed it two years ago. It is absolutely an out-of-control anti-choice party, and we need a Supreme Court that can reflect the actual values of the American people,” Markey said.
Health care, energy and NIH funding
The two candidates did find agreement on the high costs for both health care and energy along with federal funding cuts to health research.
While Markey has been a longtime supporter of Medicare for All, Deaton proposed a plan for a handful of “vertically integrated” insurance companies that would control 90% of Americans’ health care.
At the same time, Markey supported his role as co-author of the Green New Deal and argued the policy has been successful through wind, solar and battery generating 93% of all new electrical generation across the country, a figure upheld by data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Deaton said he supports a “multifaceted energy transition plot” including wind, solar, geothermal and other energy sources, while underscoring his support for nuclear energy.
Both candidates also agreed that cuts to Massachusetts’ funding from the National Institutes of Health and efforts to divert money towards red states is an issue at hand.
“When you divert money away from the top researchers for Alzheimer’s, for cancer, for diabetes, [and] for health care, you are delaying the breakthroughs that would give hope to families,” Markey said.
“What Trump is doing is he’s undermining that by putting a cloud over our researchers by trying to divert money away from the best research and ultimately he’s harming the health, not only of people in Massachusetts [and] in our country, but all around the world,” he added.
Deaton also said he does not support the funding cuts, explaining his daughter who works in the field would be home “if those cuts weren’t made.”
Looking ahead to November
Tuesday was the only set time where both candidates were set to meet face-to-face ahead of the general election in November. At the end of the debate, Deaton extended the invitation for a second one.
“Can we agree right now?” asked Deaton, extending his hand toward the senator, who made no apparent move to reciprocate.
“You are going to go down to Washington, and you are going to give the Republicans the majority in the Senate to continue on this additional two years of Donald Trump not being made accountable for what he’s doing to the families of Massachusetts,” Markey said in response.
“I think that the people of Massachusetts right now have had more than enough information given to them so they can make a decision on election day,” he added.
This story, published Oct. 14, 2026, is part of a partnership between YourArlington and the Boston University Statehouse program.
