{"id":2646336,"date":"2026-08-18T07:06:58","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T11:06:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/seth-moultons-apology-hasnt-calmed-transgender-rights-fight-with-ed-markey\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T07:12:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T11:12:49","slug":"seth-moultons-apology-hasnt-calmed-transgender-rights-fight-with-ed-markey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/seth-moultons-apology-hasnt-calmed-transgender-rights-fight-with-ed-markey\/","title":{"rendered":"Seth Moulton&#8217;s apology hasn&#8217;t calmed transgender rights fight with Ed Markey"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fseth-moultons-apology-hasnt-calmed-transgender-rights-fight-with-ed-markey%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2646336&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Massachusetts Democratic Senate primary is focusing on debates over generational change and transgender rights. Incumbent Senator Ed Markey and challenger Congressman Seth Moulton are at the centre of this political contest. Moulton has emphasized a focus on generational issues, building his campaign on this theme, but the race has increasingly been dominated by contentious discussions around transgender policies.Moulton previously made comments raising concerns about transgender athletes, which he later apologized for, stating he did not intend to hurt the trans community. The primary race has seen both candidates supporting transgender rights, including the Transgender Bill of Rights, yet internal party debates highlight concerns that such issues could impact broader electoral strategies. Some Democrats worry that aggressive positions on transgender issues may harm centrist candidates in key battleground races.Polls suggest Markey maintains a meaningful lead over Moulton, despite frequent claims of a close contest. The race reflects deeper national debates over transgender rights, political strategy, and intra-party dynamics in a deeply liberal state. The final debate will occur shortly before the primary vote.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/3829176\/generational-fight-massachusetts-democratic-senate-primary-seth-moulton-ed-markey\/\">Massachusetts Democratic Senate primary<\/a> is not only testing the party\u2019s desire for generational change but also the appetite to relitigate a subject that hurt Democrats last election cycle: transgender rights.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The issue has generated some of the most contentious moments between 80-year-old Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ed-markey\/\">Ed Markey<\/a> (D-MA) and his younger challenger, 47-year-old Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/4472014\/seth-moulton-ed-markey-massachusetts-senate-election-age-democrats-old\/\">Seth Moulton<\/a> (D-MA), who voters see as more centrist.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4690604\/trump-vs-socialism-midterm-elections\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>The Trump vs. socialism election<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4690378\/florida-primaries-antisemitism-dsa-republicans-democrats\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Florida primaries test appetite for antisemitism and anti-Israel politics on Left and Right<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4690491\/transgender-rights-fight-raging-massachusetts-senate-primary\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>A Democrat\u2019s apology hasn\u2019t calmed the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/meet-the-virginia-veteran-trying-to-flip-abigail-spanbergers-old-district\/\" title=\"Meet the Virginia veteran trying to flip Abigail Spanberger&#039;s old district\">transgender rights fight raging<\/a> in Massachusetts Senate primary<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Moulton, who launched his bid in October 2025, has tried to run his campaign based on generational issues, a factor that took down 78-year-old Rep. John Larson (D-CT) down the road in Connecticut in his primary last week.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the race has instead centered on the controversial issue and punctuated by Moulton\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/11\/07\/us\/politics\/democrats-kamala-harris.html\">challenge<\/a> to Democrats following the 2024 election losses, in which he said that he fears his daughters \u201cgetting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat, I\u2019m supposed to be afraid to say that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The comments came in the wake of the Trump campaign\u2019s famous ad alleging \u201cKamala is for they\/them, President Trump is for you,\u201d which the campaign aired frequently during NFL and college football games during the fall of 2024. The ad\u2019s content stems from an interview in which former Vice President Kamala Harris, then a candidate for president in 2020, said she supported sex changes for prison inmates.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe just took the whole playbook of MAGA and Trump, and he blamed those kids for the loss,\u201d Markey said during a recent primary debate. \u201cHe threw them under the political bus.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Having abandoned his previous take that Democrats need to rethink how they approach transgender policies, Moulton apologized to the transgender community and vowed to \u201calways have your back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTo the trans community, feeling the weight and the pain of the Trump administration policies, I deeply recognize your trauma, and I\u2019m sorry if my comments hurt you,\u201d he said. \u201cThat was not my intention.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But with transgender issues having become part of the broader strategy for each candidate to flex his progressive chops to liberal primary voters in a deep-blue state, there\u2019s a concern among some Democrats that the intraparty debate could hurt more centrist candidates in battleground races that will determine control of the House and Senate. In Virginia, for example, Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-VA) has faced <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.advocate.com\/politics\/national\/eugene-vindman-transgender-confrontation\">profanity-laced backlash<\/a> from transgender activists over his voting record.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEd Markey is not doing the Democratic Party any favors, because I\u2019m working on a lot of races right now where every Democrat is living in fear of getting hit from Republicans with a trans attack,\u201d said a national Democratic operative who works with congressional candidates across the country and was given anonymity to speak candidly. \u201cWe have a House to flip, we have a Senate to flip, and then Markey\u2019s putting himself out there taking the most extreme position possible, and that\u2019s not helpful to other Democrats.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeremy Comeau, co-chairman of the LGBT activist group Bay State Stonewall Democrats and a member of Markey\u2019s LGBT advisory council, accused Moulton of offering an insincere apology during the debate. Between Massachusetts having some of the most pro-transgender rights laws in the country and few major policy differences between the candidates, it\u2019s perhaps not surprising that the subject has received the most attention of any Democratic Senate race in the country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t disagree that we shouldn\u2019t have these difficult discussions. It\u2019s all in how we frame them and how we actually communicate the message,\u201d Comeau said. \u201cHow we deliver our message is important, and we can\u2019t throw different communities under the bus, whatever community it might be, simply because we feel it\u2019s going to earn us more votes.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> has reached out to both campaigns.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">President Donald Trump has used executive orders and government directives to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-vows-to-sign-a-bill-barring-child-sexual-mutilation-in-all-50-states\/\" title=\"... pledges to enact law banning &#039;child sexual mutilation&#039; nationwide.\">restrict transgender medical procedures<\/a>, particularly for minors, pushed to prohibit biological males from female sports, and the federal government now solely recognizes two unchangeable sexes that are assigned at birth based on biology.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA). (J. Scott Applewhite\/AP; John Locher\/AP)<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2026\/08\/localimages\/WB.Congress.100825.jpg?w=696&#8243; &#8220;https:><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA). (J. Scott Applewhite\/AP; John Locher\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Markey has been a lead ally in the Senate for the transgender community and is the author of the \u201c<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/118th-congress\/senate-resolution\/144\/text\">Transgender Bill of Rights<\/a>\u201d that would \u201cprotect and codify the rights of transgender and nonbinary people under the law and ensure their access to medical care, shelter, safety, and economic security.\u201d Moulton also <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.notus.org\/campaigns\/seth-moulton-democrats-ed-markey-trans-rights-2026-election-massachusetts\">supports the proposal<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Markey and Moulton\u2019s final debate is Thursday ahead of the Sept. 1 primary. But recent polling suggests the race is anything but a nail-biter, despite the candidates acting as though the contest is neck and neck.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/3829176\/generational-fight-massachusetts-democratic-senate-primary-seth-moulton-ed-markey\/\">GENERATIONAL FIGHT IN BUDDING MASSACHUSETTS DEMOCRATIC SENATE PRIMARY<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/polls\/massachusetts-us-senate-election-polls-2026.html?eafs_enabled=false\">latest survey<\/a>, released this week, showed Markey with a 28-point lead. Others conducted in recent months showed Moulton trailing from 5 to 17 points. But past <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/dc-md-va\/2025\/10\/03\/virginia-election-poll-spanberger-earle-sears\/\">polling<\/a> suggests debates over transgender policies do little to influence primary voters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI want to have a discussion in the Democratic Party about how we advance protections for trans people when they\u2019re facing losing their healthcare, facing losing jobs. But too often in this Congress, all we\u2019ve done is respond to the Trump agenda, the hateful Trump agenda,\u201d Moulton told reporters following last week\u2019s debate. \u201cBut I do want people to know in that community that if I hurt you, I\u2019m sorry, because that was not my intention.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Massachusetts Senate race tests generational change and transgender rights debate<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3108,"featured_media":2646337,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WB.Congress.100825.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[65257,45784,35159],"class_list":["post-2646336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-ed-markey","tag-seth-moulton","tag-transgender-rights"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WB.Congress.100825.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2646336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3108"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2646336"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2646336\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2646340,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2646336\/revisions\/2646340"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2646337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2646336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2646336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2646336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}