Ed Markey

Edward John Markey born July 11 1946 is an American lawyer politician and former Army reservist serving as the junior United States senator from Massachusetts since 2013 A member of the Democratic Party he served 20 terms 18 full two partial as the US representative for Massachusettss 7th congressional district from 1976 to 2013 Before his congressional career he was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1973 to 1976 In 2013 after John Kerry was appointed United States Secretary of State Markey was elected to serve out the remainder of Kerrys Senate term in a 2013 special election Markey defeated Stephen Lynch in the Democratic primary and Republican Gabriel E Gomez in the general election He was elected to a full term in the Senate in 2014 Markey fended off a primary challenge from Joseph Kennedy III and was reelected in 2020 by a wide margin Markey is a progressive who has focused on climate change and energy policy and was chair of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming from 2007 to 2011 He is the Senate author of the Green New Deal Markey is the dean of the Massachusetts congressional delegation having served in Congress since 1976 His progressive policies have led to widespread support among young voters The Hill has called him an icon to Gen Z activists