79-Year-Old Democrat Running For Reelection Draws Primary Challenger Three Decades Younger

Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, a 79-year old Democrat who has served in Congress for nearly five decades, is facing a serious primary challenge in his bid to serve out another six-year term.

Democratic Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton, 47, declared his 2026 candidacy for Markey’s seat on Wednesday, invoking the need for generational change and the need to avoid a repeat of former President Joe Biden, who was undone by his age during the 2024 election. Moulton’s bid for the reliably-blue seat is the latest high-profile primary contest that threatens to divide Democrats as the party plots a longshot bid to win back power during the midterms.

“We’re in a crisis. And with everything we’ve learned last election, I just don’t believe Sen. Markey should be running for another six-year term at 80 years old,” Moulton said in a three-minute long campaign announcement video. “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.”

“It’s time for a new generation of leadership,” Moulton added.

Moulton highlighted his support for traditional left-wing policy priorities in his announcement video, including universal health care and addressing climate change. He did not mention transgender issues in education and sports — which the six-term lawmaker briefly bucked his party on in the aftermath of Democrats’ election losses in November 2024.

“I have two little girls, I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete,” Moulton had told The New York Times a week and a half after President Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election. “But as a Democrat, I’m supposed to be afraid to say that.”