Ad Attacking Seth Moulton Distorts His Record on Immigration Enforcement and Progressive Policies

A political advertisement targeting Rep. Seth Moulton, who is challenging incumbent Sen. Ed Markey in Massachusetts’ Democratic primary, contains misleading claims about Moulton’s stance on immigration enforcement and progressive policies.

The 30-second ad, titled “Run” and released by Commonwealth Together PAC on April 8, attempts to paint Moulton as insufficiently progressive by highlighting past policy positions. The super PAC, which supports Sen. Markey’s reelection bid, has reportedly invested “six figures” to run the ad on social media and streaming platforms for several weeks ahead of the September 1 primary.

Most notably, the ad misleadingly claims Moulton “thanked ICE as they were terrorizing our communities and then killed citizens in broad daylight.” This assertion stems from Moulton’s June 2025 vote for a House resolution condemning an antisemitic terrorist attack at a pro-Israel demonstration in Boulder, Colorado. While the resolution’s final line did acknowledge law enforcement, “including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel, for protecting the homeland,” Moulton clarified his vote was specifically to “condemn antisemitic terror.”

“It is important to recognize that there rarely exists a bill or resolution that I vote for because I agree with every single word in it,” Moulton stated following criticism of his vote. He emphasized that the “overarching purpose” of the resolution was to condemn antisemitism, and noted he also supported a second resolution on the same attack that made no mention of ICE.

Contrary to the ad’s portrayal, Moulton has been a vocal critic of ICE. After U.S. citizen Renee Good was killed during an encounter with ICE agents in Minneapolis this January, Moulton called for accountability from the Department of Homeland Security. Following another fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen by federal immigration officers that same month, Moulton explicitly called for ICE to be abolished, stating, “ICE is beyond repair.”

The ad also challenges Moulton’s progressive credentials on healthcare, claiming he “opposes Medicare-for-all.” While Moulton has expressed reservations about a mandatory government-run healthcare system based on his experiences with VA healthcare, he supports a Medicare public option that would compete with private insurance rather than replace it entirely.

On environmental policy, the ad claims Moulton “criticized the Green New Deal,” though this characterization lacks important context. Moulton was an early supporter of the Green New Deal framework but later expressed concern about additions to the proposal that he felt weren’t directly related to climate change, potentially undermining its support.

The advertisement also attacks Moulton for previously opposing a wealth tax on billionaires. While Moulton did tell Reuters in 2019 that he thought tax plans from Senators Warren and Sanders sought to “punish the rich,” his position has evolved. He later co-sponsored the Billionaire Minimum Income Tax Act in 2022, supported Massachusetts’ Fair Share Amendment levying additional taxes on incomes exceeding $1 million, and has now proposed his own wealth tax targeting “mega-millionaires” as part of his current campaign platform.

“To suggest that a vote to condemn a horrific terrorist attack against Holocaust survivors was somehow an endorsement of ICE is the kind of intellectual dishonesty that makes people lose faith in politics,” Moulton’s campaign stated in response to the ad.

The Massachusetts Democratic Senate primary contest between Moulton and Markey represents a high-profile intraparty battle, with Moulton challenging a longtime incumbent who has positioned himself as a progressive champion. As the September primary approaches, voters can expect increased scrutiny of both candidates’ records and heightened campaign messaging from supporters on both sides.