Massachusetts’s two-term Democratic incumbent, Senator Warren, will twice debate a political newcomer attempting to unseat her, John Deaton, in a race that has proven to be an uphill battle for the Republican challenger running in the Democratic stronghold. 

Mr. Deaton, a cryptocurrency advocate, retired Marine, attorney, and millionaire, entered the race earlier this year, claiming that Ms. Warren “plays politics and gets nothing done for Massachusetts” and promising to “shape things up” by taking on the migrant crisis and inflation.

The candidates will debate twice this week — on October 15 and October 17 — in a sign that Ms. Warren is taking her GOP rival seriously ahead of the election, despite the state’s reliably Democratic voting record. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report puts the state’s Senate race as “solid Democrat” and recent Suffolk University/Boston Globe polling indicates that Ms. Warren is leading Mr. Deaton by a whopping 24 percentage points — 59 percent to 35 percent.

The same polling indicates that among Massachusetts voters weighing the presidential election, Vice President Harris is leading President Trump by nearly 30 points — 61 percent to 32 percent — and voters in the state put the “future of American democracy” as a top concern over immigration, the economy, and abortion. In the 2020 presidential election, President Biden carried the state with 66 percent to Trump’s 32 percent. 

Despite a strong Democratic presence in the state, Ms. Warren has certainly not ignored her challenger’s campaign — and there are some indicators that Ms. Warren’s grip on the state isn’t as strong as it might appear.

A Boston.com survey of its readers earlier this year indicated that 57 percent of them thought Ms. Warren was vulnerable to Mr. Deaton. The Boston Herald reports that Mr. Deaton has tapped into the network of the state’s former Republican governor, Charlie Baker, ahead of the election. Mr. Baker was an extremely well-liked politician in the state, with approval ratings above 70 percent in 2022, making him the most popular governor in the nation. 

Mr. Deaton, who recently moved to Massachusetts and who grew up with a single mother in a violent neighborhood in Detroit, says he dealt with tough challenges throughout his entire life, including fighting cancer, addiction, and debt, as the Sun reported when he announced his campaign earlier this year. His memoir, “Food Stamp Warrior,” details a rough childhood and his escape from poverty as he eventually worked his way through law school and made millions, with most of his net worth held in Bitcoin.

His cryptocurrency litigation and support has pitted him against Ms. Warren, an outspoken foe of the crypto industry who has called for more regulations of the “wild west” of digital currencies. Yet Mr. Deaton has sought to not make crypto the main issue of the race, instead turning his focus to the high cost of living and immigration. He also has notably distanced himself from Republicans on certain issues, saying that he will write in a candidate rather than vote for President Trump and that he would support codifying Roe v. Wade.

“John Deaton looks forward to contrasting his vision for a commonsense, bipartisan voice representing Massachusetts with Senator Warren’s broken promises and hyper-partisanship,” Mr. Deaton’s communications director, Claire Hardwick, tells the Sun of the upcoming debates. “The next senator should not give their vote away to a political party — it should be earned, and that’s exactly what John Deaton plans to do if elected.”
The Sun reached out to Ms. Warren for comment. In a recent interview with WPRI, she said she is seeking a third term because “I think of it as this is the job that I want to do right now and the reason I want to do it is because I’m good at getting things done, I’ve learned how a lot of these pieces work.”