Seth Moulton

Massachusetts U.S. Senate candidates John Deaton and Congressman Seth Moulton will be going head to head in the state’s first-ever interparty primary debate tonight as the Republican and Democrat try to unseat incumbent Sen. Ed Markey.

Markey, who for months had dodged several debate challenges from both Deaton and Moulton, recently accepted two primary debate challenges from Moulton set for later this summer, but has continued to snub requests from his Republican challenger Deaton.

Markey has also challenged Moulton to a third summertime debate in Western Massachusetts.

While WBZ has not announced the exact parameters or specific topics of tonight’s 9 p.m. debate, a mix of leading national and statewide political issues can be expected to be on the docket.

On the national front, Moulton can be expected to continue to push his platform as a younger alternative to the aging Sen. Markey who is not afraid to stand up to President Trump, and will use his ongoing attacks against Trump’s policies, ICE, and the War in Iran, among others, to attack Deaton.

Viewers can expect Deaton, who has publicly stated that he has never voted for Trump, to continue to push his image as the pragmatic Republican alternative to either another six years of an aging and increasingly progressive Markey or a younger, yet also increasingly progressive Moulton.

“This all basically started because I think the Democrats had made a comment about debates and Seth had tagged Ed Markey saying we should lead by example. So then I tagged Seth and said, ‘I agree. Let’s all lead by example and do a three-way debate,” Deaton explained to the Herald when Moulton agreed to the challenge back in May.

“Seth had responded to me agreeing to debate,saying ‘John, on one condition: You agree to debate even if Senator Markey doesn’t show up.’ I’ll debate these guys anywhere, anytime, because I believe I have the right vision for Massachusetts, so I’m looking forward to it,” he said.

Moulton’s campaign told the Herald that the Democratic challenger was looking forward to the debate, also taking an expected swipe at President Trump and slamming Markey for refusing to join them.

“Seth Moulton believes we should lead by example and be willing to debate issues and answer tough questions. So far, Ed Markey has refused to debate,” Moulton Campaign Spokesperson Taylore Hebble said in a written statement. “We look forward to debating the racist and harmful policies of the Trump administration with John Deaton, and will keep a chair for Senator Markey if he finally decides to show up and face the voters.”

But Markey is no stranger to debates, even during challenging and what some may call dangerous times.

The junior Massachusetts Senator participated in a total of five debates, live and in-person, during the COVID-19 pandemic, four of which were against then-challenger Joe Kennedy III in the 2020 election. Markey also participated in a general election debate against Republican challenger Kevin O’Connor, all while navigating public health restrictions.

The debate between Deaton and Moulton will be moderated by host John Keller and will air on WBZ-TV at 9 tonight.