If U.S. Sen. Ed Markey was sweating a bumpy road to reelection in 2026, then he probably welcomed the recent news that there’s now one less obstacle in his path.

Namely, U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss, the rising political star from Newton who’s positioned himself as the intellectual conscience of a party that seems particularly rudderless in the age of Trump 2.0.

The 37-year-old, Harvard-educated Marine veteran told the Boston Globe this week that he’s taking a pass on a 2026 primary campaign and instead will concentrate on holding onto his own seat and running a PAC dedicated to recapturing the House and rehabilitating the party’s damaged brand among voters.

“I am not going to challenge Ed,” Auchincloss, D-4th District, told the Globe. “After November, I spent six months digging into

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