Seth Moulton

Markey on Tuesday released his 2025 tax returns and called on Moulton to do the same in an effort to needle his primary opponent (who recently bought a $3.1 million home in Marblehead) on financial transparency.

What’s in Markey’s tax returns? Not a whole lot. The documents show that he reported earning around $250,000 in 2025, the largest chunk being $145,000 from his congressional salary. He also donated $8,850 to charity.

What isn’t in them? His wife’s income. Markey filed separately from his wife, Susan Blumenthal, a physician and former US assistant surgeon general, so his tax documents don’t quite paint the full picture of the Democratic senator’s financial situation. His campaign also declined to release his wife’s tax returns.

His personal financial disclosure, however, gives more of a clue. Those documents show that Blumenthal earns a salary as a health care consultant (without disclosing the specific amount) and receives a pension from the US Public Health Service (again, without the exact figure), and that the couple has assets worth between $3.15 million and $9.6 million.

Moulton’s financial situation is less clear at the moment.

Moulton’s campaign said the congressman and his wife, Liz, filed for a “standard extension” on their jointly filed taxes. (The federal government allows up to six extra months for those who apply by April 15).

Moulton plans to “expedite” the filing and intends to release his returns “well before the primary election” on Sept. 1, according to his campaign, which said he is “committed to absolute transparency.”

Congressional financial disclosures are typically due on May 15, but Moulton, too, asked for an extension on that, until August 13 — the maximum 90-day extension that members can request. Those documents, his campaign said, will also be made public before the primary.

Early voting begins August 22.

“Financial transparency for Senators is not a choice — it’s a responsibility that comes with asking for the public’s trust,” Markey’s campaign manager, Cam Charbonnier, said in a statement. “Congressman Moulton should release his taxes and personal financial disclosure now.”

Moulton’s campaign is throwing down its own records request, challenging all other candidates to release their health and medical records. Officially, Moulton’s campaign said it’s about making sure voters know candidates are “up to the challenge” to serve a six-year term.

Unofficially, well, only one candidate in the race is turning 80 this year.

Moulton has made age the centerpiece of his campaign, riding the fumes of Democrats’ discontent over the 2024 presidential election in arguing that Markey is too old to serve another six years.

Whether voters care in this case remains an open question, and polling out Tuesday shows it might not move the needle in the way Moulton needs it.

A new Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll found just under a quarter of 500 voters surveyed say age is a “big factor” in choosing who to vote for at the ballot box. Another 41 percent said it’s a small factor, and 33 percent said it doesn’t matter at all to them. Similar shares of Democratic primary voters said the same in an April Suffolk/Globe poll.

Moulton, by the way, didn’t release his own medical records Tuesday, but his campaign said he’s prepared to if others do.

He and the GOP’s de facto Senate nominee, John Deaton, will meet in a WBZ-hosted debate that airs at 9 p.m. on TV38. Markey declined to participate.

Massachusetts voters will have plenty of choices to sort through this cycle. We’re working on a voter guide to help. What races are you most interested in?Send us your picks: [email protected].

Here are some other highlights from the Suffolk/Globe poll:

THE HEALEY SHRUG: More than half of Massachusetts voters said they can’t point to a signature accomplishment Governor Maura Healey has made during her first term, the Globe’s Samantha J. Gross reports.

It may not matter. The first-term Democrat still appears to be on a glide path to reelection. Healey holds leads of 25 and 27 percentage points over her two GOP challengers, Mike Minogue and Brian Shortsleeve, respectively, according to the poll conducted over five days last week.

A telling quote from Sam’s story: “I have a few friends that met Maura, who said they trust her to make good decisions,“ said Jeff Hacker, a 67-year-old registered Democrat from Lincoln. ”But I don’t know what the hell she’s done.”

EXIT SIGNS: Many in Massachusetts are still thinking about fleeing the state for greener cheaper pastures.

One in four of the 500 voters polled said they’ve “seriously considered” a move, and another 28 percent have weighed it from time to time. Roughly 40 percent of those cited the state’s high cost of living as their primary concern.

It might be more vibes than reality, though: At least 70 percent said they had enough money to live comfortably right now, or weren’t concerned about losing their jobs. You can read more about it in this piece from the Globe’s Anjali Huynh.

Read the full results of the Suffolk/Globe poll here.

UNDER INVESTIGATION: A signature fraud controversy surrounding nearly half of the state GOP’s statewide slate is intensifying. Plymouth County prosecutors told the Globe they are now probing a swath of potentially fraudulent signatures submitted to clerks in three towns.

“Our office is working with town clerks to investigate the validity of some ballot signatures collected in Scituate, Hanover, and Rockland,” Beth Stone, a spokesperson for the Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz, said in a statement. “The investigation is ongoing.”

Falsely signing nomination papers — and submitting fraudulent signatures — is illegal in Massachusetts. The punishments range from a $1,000 fine to up to a year in jail.

It’s not the only development in the saga. The state Ballot Law Commission is set to hold hearings Tuesday on challenges that could knock GOP lieutenant governor hopeful Anne Manning Martin and Michael Walsh, the party’s endorsed candidate for attorney general, off the September ballot in connection to the allegations.

The Secretary of State’s office last month flagged concerns from local clerks about potentially forged signatures submitted for Manning Martin, Walsh, and the party’s endorsed candidate for lieutenant governor, Anne Brensley.

Brensley has already said she didn’t collect enough signatures to qualify for the primary ballot, and laid blame on Joe Bronske, a consultant she, Manning Martin, and Walsh all hired to help gather the 10,000 signatures they needed to put their name before votes on Sept. 1.

STAFFING UP: Elizabeth Hopkins is joining GOP gubernatorial hopeful Mike Minogue’s campaign as communications director. She was previously an anchor on Boston 25 News and worked at WPRI in Rhode Island.

COMPROMISE CO-SIGNER: Healey says she supports a compromise on rent control ballot measure by Andrew Brinker, The Boston Globe: Healey over the weekend said she would support a legislative compromise on rent control in order to avoid a brutal ballot fight this fall — though she stopped short of endorsing the specific plan the question’s backers and some developers are floating.

“In terms of stabilization, there’s a discussion now about that ballot question. I support a compromise to bring in rent stabilization and get that question off the ballot,” Healey said, according to a recording of her remarks obtained by the Globe and confirmed by a spokesperson for her reelection campaign.

PROGRESS REPORT: School Committee gives Boston Public Schools superintendent a ‘B’ in 4th year by Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald: As Boston Public Schools face critical budget and enrollment challenges, School Committee members affirmed their confidence in Superintendent Mary Skipper’s ability to lead the district, grading her fourth year performance a solid “B” during her annual evaluation, pointing in part to the city’s historically high graduation rates under Skipper’s leadership.

Mass. wheelchair users wait months for simple repairs. Critics say private equity is to blame by Meghan Smith, GBH News.

Quincy council votes down Mayor Thomas Koch’s plan to purchase Eastern Nazarene College campus for $22m by Chloe Pisani, The Boston Globe.

Immigrants recount deportations, detentions at Chelsea forum by Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio, The Boston Globe.

Great Barrington voters face three funding requests and not enough cash by Talia Lissauer, The Berkshire Eagle.

Nantucket Will Likely Not Adopt New State Law Extending Last Call At Island Bars This Summer by JohnCarl McGrady, Nantucket Current.

ShotSpotter’s days are numbered in New Bedford by Frank Mulligan, The Standard-Times.

Thanks for reading The Scrum.

This newsletter was edited and produced by Matt Stout.

Have a question for the team? Email us at [email protected].

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