By Anjali Huynh

BOSTON — US Representative Ayanna Pressley, who once seriously weighed running against US Senator Ed Markey for his seat this year, is now endorsing the Democrat’s re-election bid amid a primary challenge from elsewhere within the Massachusetts delegation.

“Senator Ed Markey is a friend and a proven champion for working families. He has been a committed partner in our shared work to advance justice for the people of Massachusetts,” Pressley said in a statement released by Markey’s campaign to the Globe.

Pressley entered Congress seven years ago after defeating a Democratic incumbent on a message that she would offer generational and representational change — a similar argument US Representative Seth Moulton is now pitching in his bid to unseat Markey.

In backing Markey, the congresswoman pointed to instances in which the pair of progressive lawmakers have worked together, including to advocate for the release of Massachusetts residents from ICE custody, strip qualified immunity protections from federal officials, and “ensure that those too often left out and left behind are centered in our policymaking.”

“I am proud to endorse his re-election so we can continue advancing the justice-driven solutions our communities need to not only survive, but thrive,” the Boston Democrat said.

Speculation had circled for months that Pressley, who at 52 is serving her fourth term in the US House, was exploring a run for Senate against Markey, 79.

While Markey has so far polled ahead of Moulton, a November Suffolk University/Boston Globe survey showed that his lead could narrow — or disappear altogether — if Pressley entered the race.

But Pressley announced in December that she would instead seek re-election in the Seventh District and not run against a longtime political ally.

Alex Rikleen, a former teacher and Markey’s first declared challenger, is also running in the Democratic primary. John Deaton, a personal injury lawyer, is widely expected to be the Republican nominee.

Pressley’s backing of Markey is, in itself, not surprising. The two have routinely collaborated on legislation, such as the so-called AI Civil Rights Act, aiming to regulate decisions artificial intelligence can make, and legislation to fund fare-free public transit across Massachusetts. They’ve regularly stood side by side in press conferences to criticize President Trump’s administration on issues such as his administration’s move to keep a pause on food benefits funding.

And both Pressley and Markey, alongside Representative Jim McGovern, traveled to ICE facilities in Louisiana to meet with Rümeysa Öztürk, the Tufts University doctoral student detained last year by the Trump administration.

Markey said in a statement that the congresswoman was “not only a colleague, but a friend and a true partner in service.”

“She has been a fearless and principled leader in our shared fight to deliver justice, equity, and opportunity for families across Massachusetts,” Markey said. “Ayanna understands that progress doesn’t happen by accident — it happens because we organize, we legislate, and we never back down from the work of building a more just and inclusive Commonwealth.”

Pressley joins a number of other Massachusetts elected officials who have endorsed Markey’s re-election bid, including Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Attorney General Andrea Campbell, House minority whip Representative Katherine Clark, and Senator Elizabeth Warren.

VIEW ORIGINAL ARTICLE: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/03/02/metro/markey-pressley-senate-endorsement-2026-midterms/