A mobile billboard truck rolled past Senator Ed Markey's home in Chevy Chase, Maryland, the U.S. Capitol, and Markey's Senate office on Thursday, plastered with a milk-carton image reading “Missing: Ed Markey.” The stunt, organized by Republican Senate challenger John Deaton, also played a video challenging the longtime Massachusetts Democrat over his withdrawal from a scheduled debate — and it landed on the same day Deaton publicly blamed Markey's campaign rhetoric for a shattered window at his East Providence, Rhode Island, law office.
A Rolling Attack Ad Hits Three Stops
According to the Boston Herald, the truck made stops outside Markey's Chevy Chase home, the Capitol building, and his nearby Senate office, with Deaton's campaign planning a fourth appearance outside Markey's Malden home on Friday. The billboard highlighted what Deaton calls Markey's lack of real residency in Massachusetts and renewed his demand that the senator agree to more televised debates. Deaton said Markey has backed out of forums, interviews and debates, and he's gone as far as to call on Markey to drop out of the Senate race altogether, per the same report.
Deaton has also challenged Markey to five single-issue debates, according to the Herald's report, and says four television stations asked Markey to commit to debate appearances — though Markey has agreed to only one one-hour debate. That debate cancellation traces back to late September, when Massachusetts Republican Party Chair Amy Carnevale said Markey withdrew from an October 14 forum hosted by WCVB-TV, according to the New Boston Post. That leaves an October 13 debate on WBZ-TV as the only televised face-off currently scheduled between the two candidates.
Vandalism in Rhode Island Adds a New Flashpoint
Hours after the billboard truck made its rounds, Deaton said a window at his East Providence law office had been shattered, and he publicly pointed to Markey's campaign rhetoric as the cause, as reported by CBS News. Markey's campaign responded that no violence is acceptable in any form, while noting that local police are investigating. East Providence police reviewed local surveillance footage following the reported vandalism, per the same CBS News account.
Residency Questions Stretch Back More Than a Decade
The residency attacks Deaton is pressing now are not new. Markey has faced years of criticism over how much time he actually spends at his Malden home, dating back to his 2013 Senate bid and intensifying during his bruising 2020 Democratic primary against Joe Kennedy III, who raised questions about Markey's leadership during a primary debate that year. Media reports at the time, cited by the Washington Examiner, pointed to Markey's travel records and his refusal to release utility bills from the Malden property. Markey has said his time in Washington is simply required when the Senate is in session, and his campaign maintains he has lived his entire life in Malden while defending his long stays in Maryland as a function of the job.
Markey's campaign has turned the residency argument back on Deaton, criticizing the Republican's own recent move to Massachusetts. Deaton relocated from Rhode Island after his unsuccessful 2024 Senate run against Elizabeth Warren, a race he lost 56% to 35%, according to CommonWealth Beacon. Deaton, a trial attorney and Marine Corps veteran who has represented cryptocurrency investors in cases including a 2025 class-action lawsuit tied to the collapse of Linqto, self-funded that 2024 campaign with more than $1 million in personal loans.
Debate Frustration Predates the General Election
Deaton's irritation over debate scheduling did not start with this fall's campaign. Back in May, before the Democratic primary, Deaton challenged both Markey and then-U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton to a three-way debate, but Markey declined to join the resulting June forum hosted by WBZ-TV, according to Wikipedia. Moulton and Deaton ultimately held a two-candidate, cross-party debate that month without Markey.
Markey went on to beat Moulton in the September 1 Democratic primary, a race in which Moulton made Markey's age a central argument against him. Markey turned 80 in July, making him the oldest sitting senator in Massachusetts history, per Ballotpedia. He first won election to the U.S. House in 1976 and moved to the Senate after a 2013 special election, amassing more than 36 years in the House alone — a tenure Deaton casts as career-politician status and Markey frames as hard-won experience.
Markey's Polling Edge Still Looms Large
Republican Mark Steffen said Markey lives outside Massachusetts and refuses to debate Deaton, a line that echoes the campaign's broader message in recent weeks. But Deaton remains well behind in the numbers: a September University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll found 53% of likely Massachusetts voters backing Markey's re-election compared with 30% for Deaton. That gap mirrors earlier polling trends in which nearly half of surveyed state voters said they were unfamiliar with Deaton, a reality that helps explain why his campaign has leaned on high-visibility stunts like the billboard truck to build name recognition in a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than three to one.
With the vandalism investigation in East Providence still unfolding and only the WBZ-TV debate confirmed for October 13, the race's final weeks look likely to stay combative. Hoodline has previously covered the primary battle in which AOC endorsed Markey over Moulton, as well as Markey's ongoing legislative work pressing federal officials on issues affecting Massachusetts constituents.
