TRENTON, N.J. – Gov. Mikie Sherrill stepped outside New Jersey and put some of her political capital behind a fellow military veteran promising a new generation of Democratic leadership. Massachusetts Democrats weren’t buying it.
The loss is not only an embarrassing start for Sherrill’s campaign to reach the White House, but it also solidified her as an establishment Democrat who isn’t afraid to buck the Bernie Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez far-left progressive wing of the Democratic Party. That early alignment could hurt Sherrill’s quest for office beyond New Jersey in the future.
Sherrill endorsed U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton in his Democratic primary challenge against Sen. Ed Markey and traveled to Massachusetts during the closing stretch of the campaign. Tuesday night, Markey crushed Moulton, winning about 65% of the vote to Moulton’s 35% with most ballots counted.
The result doesn’t amount to Massachusetts voters passing judgment on Sherrill. But it was a rough outcome for one of her first high-profile attempts as governor to help shape Democratic politics outside New Jersey — particularly after she went beyond issuing an endorsement and personally campaigned for Moulton.
Sherrill Went to Massachusetts to Help Moulton
Sherrill’s support wasn’t a surprise endorsement between political strangers.
Moulton’s Serve America organization supported Sherrill when she first ran for Congress in 2018. Moulton later returned the favor, traveling to New Jersey to campaign for Sherrill during her successful run for governor.
Sherrill officially endorsed Moulton on Aug. 6, casting the race as part of a push for younger Democratic leadership.
“When I first decided to run for Congress, Seth was in my corner,” Sherrill said in announcing the endorsement.
She didn’t stop there. Sherrill traveled to Massachusetts and appeared with Moulton in Arlington during the final weeks of the primary.
- Sherrill endorsed Moulton as part of her first wave of 2026 congressional endorsements through her Mission to Deliver political operation.
- She personally traveled to Massachusetts to campaign for him rather than simply lending her name to the race.
- Markey ultimately defeated Moulton by roughly 30 percentage points, according to results reported after Tuesday’s primary.
Why did Mikie Sherrill endorse Seth Moulton?
The two have a political relationship stretching back to Sherrill’s first congressional campaign. They also share military backgrounds, and Sherrill said Moulton represented the kind of next-generation leadership she wants to see in Washington.
Massachusetts Democrats Picked the Progressive
There was more separating Moulton and Markey than their ages.
Markey, 80, ran as the unapologetic progressive in the race. His record includes support for the Green New Deal, Medicare for All and transgender rights, and his coalition included prominent progressives such as Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Moulton, 47, occupied the more moderate lane. The Marine veteran made generational change, affordability and government effectiveness central to his campaign while arguing that Democrats needed new leadership.
His position on transgender athletes also became an issue. Moulton had questioned transgender girls competing in girls’ sports, giving Markey another ideological dividing line to use against him.
Massachusetts voters ultimately chose the older progressive by a wide margin.
“Challenging the establishment and calling for a new generation of leadership isn’t easy, but it is necessary,” Moulton told supporters as he conceded Tuesday night.
How badly did Moulton lose?
Markey was leading approximately 65% to 35% with most votes counted, a margin of about 30 percentage points. The Associated Press called the race for Markey Tuesday night.
What the Loss Means for Sherrill
It would be a stretch to call Moulton’s defeat a major political setback for New Jersey’s governor. Sherrill wasn’t on the ballot, and Markey entered the final stretch with considerable advantages in his home state.
Still, endorsements are meant to help and they mean a lot to others as politicians begin rallying support for their own quests for higher office.
Sherrill attached her name to Moulton, traveled across state lines to campaign with him and promoted a similar argument about the need for a new generation of political leadership. Massachusetts Democrats overwhelmingly went the other way.
The race also offers an early test of the political network Sherrill is building beyond New Jersey. Her Mission to Deliver PAC announced a slate of endorsements in August focused heavily on candidates with military, intelligence and national security backgrounds.
Moulton was a particularly natural fit for that network. Like Sherrill, he entered electoral politics after military service and built a political identity around service, pragmatism and challenging established leadership.
That formula worked for Sherrill in New Jersey. It didn’t come close to knocking off Markey in Massachusetts.
Was Moulton Sherrill’s only national endorsement?
No. Sherrill announced a broader group of congressional endorsements through Mission to Deliver in August. Moulton stood out because he was challenging a sitting Democratic senator and Sherrill personally traveled to Massachusetts to campaign for him.
For Sherrill, there will be other races and plenty of opportunities to measure whether her endorsements carry weight outside New Jersey. One losing candidate doesn’t establish a governor’s national influence — or lack of it.
But her Massachusetts debut in a statewide race produced an unmistakable score. Sherrill has backed several candidates nationwide for Congress, winning most of those primary elections in smaller, focused markets, but this was her first statewide endorsement, and it ended in a landslide defeat.
Sherrill backed the challenger. She hit the campaign trail for him. Massachusetts Democrats handed the incumbent a landslide.
Sources: Seth Moulton campaign, Sherrill endorsement announcement; Associated Press, Massachusetts Democratic primary results and campaign reporting; Roll Call, reporting on Sherrill campaigning in Massachusetts and the Moulton-Markey race
Mikie Sherrill, Seth Moulton, Ed Markey, Massachusetts Senate primary, New Jersey governor, Sherrill endorsement, Mission to Deliver PAC, Massachusetts Democrats, Democratic primary, Seth Moulton loss, Ed Markey victory, New Jersey politics, 2026 midterms
