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Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton’s (D) primary challenge against Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) on generational grounds raises questions about the potency of the argument as Democrats grapple with the future of their party’s aging stalwarts.
In a video launching his campaign, Moulton, 46, said he does not believe Markey, 79, should be running for another six-year term in the Senate at 80 years old. The challenge comes as Democrats have struggled with the issue of age following the deaths of three House Democrats earlier this year and the fallout over former President Biden’s decision to end his run for reelection last year on concerns over his fitness for office.
However, this is not the first time Markey, a formidable incumbent, has had a generational primary challenge. Five years ago, he faced one from former Rep. Joe Kennedy III, who is 34 years younger. The incumbent Massachusetts senator handily defeated Kennedy, marking the first time a member of the Kennedy family lost a statewide race in Massachusetts.
“This race in many ways parallels the last race Markey had,” said Mary Anne Marsh, a veteran Massachusetts Democratic strategist. “Markey was successful because he defined the race, defined himself, and defined Joe Kennedy before Joe Kennedy did any of those things.”
“That’s the same challenge right now: Can Ed Markey define Seth Moulton before Seth Moulton defines himself and simply runs on age?” she said.
In his announcement video, Moulton directly called out Markey’s tenure on Capitol Hill, which includes 12 years in the Senate and 37 years in the House of Representatives.
“We’re in a crisis, and with everything we learned last election, I just don’t believe Sen. Markey should be running for another six-year term at 80 years old. Even more, I don’t think someone who’s been in Congress for half a century is the right person to meet this moment and win the future,” Moulton said. “Sen. Markey is a good man, but it’s time for a new generation of leadership, and that’s why I’m running for U.S. Senate.”
Markey’s team hit back in its own statement, noting that Moulton “is launching a political campaign during a government shutdown.”
“Senator Markey is doing his job—voting against Trump’s extremist agenda and working to stop the MAGA attacks on health care so that we can reopen the government. That’s what leadership looks like and what the residents of Massachusetts expect from their senator,” said Cam Charbonnier, Markey’s campaign manager.
And Moulton may not be the only member of the state’s delegation to challenge Markey. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) has repeatedly been floated as a potential contender. According to The Associated Press, a spokesperson for Pressley said Wednesday the congresswoman “remains focused on ending Republicans’ government shutdown” when asked about any potential plans to run.
Moulton’s announcement somewhat mirrors that of Kennedy’s in 2019, in which the then-38-year-old congressman called out the “the outdated structures and old rules, the everyday oppressions and injustices that hold our people back.”
At the time, Kennedy denied that his primary challenge was about age, arguing that it was instead about “vision and leadership.”
But in the six years since, the age of elected officials has become a national discussion.
Moreover, Markey is entering his latest reelection bid during a very different environment. Democrats are still recovering from their widespread losses in the 2024 election, with no clear national leader.
“The world is different,” said one Democratic strategist with experience working in Massachusetts politics. “Now Donald Trump has become president again. Sen. Markey is six years older, and Democratic voters, independent voters, you name it, they all felt like they were gaslit by Joe Biden and they do not trust politicians over a certain age anymore.”
The strategist added that political observers should note style over ideology in the primary, saying, “Massachusetts voters love a show horse.”
“Massachusetts voters love to have that sort of marquee politician representing them, and I think part of the argument here is that Sen. Markey has not been able to do that recently and he only became interested in doing it six years ago when he was facing a challenge for the first time in his life,” the strategist said.
Moulton is no stranger to challenging the status quo. He ousted former Rep. John Tierney (Mass.) in the 2014 Democratic primary for the state’s 6th Congressional District. The congressman went on to make waves in 2018, when he unsuccessfully challenged former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), losing in a 203-32 vote. In April 2019, he jumped into the open Democratic presidential primary but ended up suspending his campaign in August of that year.
“This is not unusual for him to take this kind of leap,” said Jennifer Holdsworth, a Democratic strategist and former Moulton campaign staffer. “He has been a very big policy wonk on a lot of issues that are very deep at the core of Massachusetts.”
“He is less likely to lean into national debates and national battles on the issue of the day and focus very laser-like on local issues to Massachusetts and he has a lot of support when he does that,” she continued.
Others note that Moulton is still taking a risk in challenging Markey.
“The issue is, is Seth Moulton the guy who took out John Tierney, a longtime incumbent, overwhelmingly? That Seth Moulton could take out Ed Markey,” said Marsh, the Massachusetts Democratic strategist. “Or is he the Seth Moulton who gets to Congress, tries to take out Nancy Pelosi as Speaker and fails because he didn’t have a plan, then decides he’s going to run for president and fails at that too and drops out. That one won’t beat Markey.”
Markey was asked about his age and running for reelection in 2026 during an interview with Boston’s ABC affiliate WCVB last year.
“I’m ready for the fight. I’ve never been more energized, and I’m ready to stand for reelection, and that is my full intention,” Markey told the outlet, adding that it’s not about his age but the age of his ideas.
“I’ve always been the youngest guy in the room,” the senator said.
Publicly available polling paints a mixed picture of what a Markey versus Moulton showdown could look like.
A University of New Hampshire poll released late last month found that 42 percent of Massachusetts voters said they believed Markey should be reelected, while 39 percent said they did not believe he deserves to be reelected to another term.
A separate poll released by the Fiscal Alliance Foundation earlier this month showed Markey trailing Moulton among general election voters, 43 percent to 21 percent. But among the state’s Democratic voters, Moulton’s lead narrows to 38 percent to 30 percent.
But polling also shows Markey remains relatively popular in the Bay State. According to a University of Massachusetts Amherst/WCVB survey released in February, Markey holds a 51 percent approval rating and a 29 percent disapproval rating.
“The Markey camp looks at these numbers and says they’re above water,” said Tatishe Nteta, a political science professor at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and director of the University of Massachusetts Amherst/WCVB poll.
“Over half of the residents of the Bay State express approval of the job that he is doing and that’s about where he’s been for much of his tenure, and that’s really where folks like Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts state legislature, and Gov. [Maura] Healey have hovered,” he said.
“I think this race is a lot more about his age than his performance,” he added.
But not everyone believes this issue of age is going to be enough to get a candidate across the finish line.
“It’s a factor, it’s not the factor,” Marsh said. “Given everything that is going on with Trump and everything else, you have to do more than just campaign on your birth date. You have to show people that you can stand up to Trump, that you have stood up to Trump and that you would do a better job.”
“For both Markey and Seth, [it’s] not only are you standing up to Trump but are you stopping him? What is your plan to stop him? Not just complain about him,” she said.
