Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), a long-time champion of net neutrality in Congress, is projected to keep his Senate seat in Massachusetts.
The Massachusetts senator defeated his Republican challenger Kevin O’Connor, who he faced after a grueling Democratic primary battle with Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.) earlier this year.
NBC News called the race in favor of Markey at 7pm CT. The Associated Press also called the race for Markey at 7pm CT.
During the primary battle with Kennedy, Markey found himself with a massive online fandom called “the Markeyverse” that passionately supported him.
Ed Markey wins 2020 Massachusetts Senate race
The senator’s re-election also ensures that one of the most vocal supporters of net neutrality remains in Congress’s upper chamber.
Markey has pushed the Save the Internet Act, a bill that would essentially make the 2015 Open Internet Order, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule that established net neutrality before being repealed, a law.
The Save the Internet Act passed in the House of Representatives in April last year, but has since languished in the Senate.
Depending on how the rest of the election shakes out, net neutrality could once again become a major tech policy issue.
The win for Markey is not overly shocking. As FiveThirtyEight shows, recent polls for Markey found him leading O’Conner by double digits in early October and mid-October.
