The Associated Press projected Tuesday that Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts had won a third term, defeating Republican John Deaton shortly after polls closed, Boston.com and The Boston Globe reported^1,2,3.

Boston.com said the AP called the race less than 10 minutes after 8 p.m., and that early AP figures around 8:30 p.m. showed Markey with nearly 83 percent and Deaton about 9 percent, with about 1 percent of ballots counted¹.

Markey, 80, first won the Senate in a 2013 special election after 20 terms in the U.S. House and is the longest-serving member of the state's congressional delegation, Boston.com reported¹. The Globe said he has indicated the next six-year term may be his last and that he intends to keep pressing for Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, and a check on President Donald Trump³.

Deaton, 59, is a personal-injury lawyer and former Marine who lost to Sen. Elizabeth Warren by nearly 20 points in 2024 and ran unopposed in this year's Republican primary^1,3. Boston.com said his campaign stressed living costs, affordability, and housing, and that in a Tuesday night statement he said he respected voters' decision and wished Markey well in what Deaton called his last term¹.

The Globe reported Markey also faced Joe Tache, a Boston socialist organizer, and Shiva Ayyadurai, a Belmont independent, and that he had largely stayed off the general-election trail after defeating Rep. Seth Moulton by nearly 30 points in the Sept. 1 Democratic primary³.

During an Oct. 13 debate, Markey sought to tie Deaton to Trump while Deaton presented himself as willing to work across party lines and criticized Markey's record after nearly five decades in Congress, both outlets reported^1,3. The Globe's live blog said the AP also projected Gov. Maura Healey would win reelection as Massachusetts ballot questions remained too early to call².