With most votes in incumbent Richard Neal won the Democratic primary election Sept. 1 against challenger Alec Morse. Neal is considered a conservative Democrat, and Morse challenged him from the left in the Western Massachusetts 1st Congressional District. Neal was leading 60 percent to 40 percent after polls closed, but before the total was complete. Incumbent Senator Ed Markey also beat challenger Joe Kennedy in a statewide contest. In the Congressional election, Morse, who is gay, was accused of sexual misconduct during the campaign, but the allegations appeared to be part of a political hit job. The College Democrats made the sexual misconduct charge, but The Intercept later reported that leaders of the College Democrats had conspired to create a sex scandal to sink Morse’s campaign and win favor with Neal, and that the Democrats executive director told leaders of the College Democrats to delete communication records. Neal's campaign denied any involvement in the story.