Dem Congressman Mounting Primary Challenge Against 79-Year-Old Senator: He’s ‘Been in Congress for Half a Century’
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) announced Monday that he’ll challenge 79-year-old incumbent Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) in the Democratic Senate primary race next year.
As noted in reporting from Roll Call, the 46-year-old Moulton won his seat in the House by defeating nine-term incumbent John Tierney in 2015. In a video announcing his campaign, Moulton criticized his colleagues in the Democratic Party for failing to “stop Donald Trump’s harmful, racist agenda.”
“Our party has clung to the status quo,” Moulton continued, “insisted on using the same old playbook, and isn’t fighting hard enough. The next generation will keep paying the cost if we don’t change course. This isn’t a fight we can put off for another six years. The future we all believe in is on the line.”
Moulton then turned his attention to Markey, who will turn 80 just a few months before the 2026 midterm elections.
“We’re in a crisis, and with everything we learned last election, I just don’t believe Senator Markey should be running for another six-year term at 80 years old,” Moulton said. “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. Senator Markey is a good man, but it’s time for a new generation of leadership; and that’s why I’m running for US Senate.”
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