In a political season marked by younger progressive challengers toppling long-serving party figures, 80-year-old Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey is working to show voters he still belongs on the Democratic Party’s left flank — and in the Senate.
Markey, the oldest Democrat seeking another term this year, has leaned heavily into progressive credentials, pointing to his 2019 partnership with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on the “Green New Deal” and his support for “Medicare for All,” a signature demand of the party’s socialist-aligned wing.
Despite questions about his age, Markey holds a double-digit polling advantage over Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), a 47-year-old Marine Corps veteran who will challenge him Tuesday in deeply Democratic Massachusetts after launching his campaign with the argument that the senator was “too old.”
Moulton, who briefly sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2019 before ending his bid after four months, is generally viewed as a centrist. Still, he has argued that his party must take a more aggressive posture, saying Democrats “need to fight Trump harder.”
A University of New Hampshire survey released last week underscored how central age has become in the race, even as it found Massachusetts voters continuing to favor Markey while expressing uncertainty about whether he could remain fit through another six-year term.
According to the poll, 27% of Markey supporters cited his politics or ideology as their reason for backing him, while 58% of Moulton voters said their support was driven by “age.”
“Markey is too old and too far left,” one Moulton supporter told pollsters. Overall, 43% of respondents said Markey “probably would not” or “definitely would not” be mentally and physically able to complete another term. Another 34% said he would be capable, while 23% were unsure. Even so, Markey maintained a commanding 63-28 lead.
The Massachusetts Senate primary is unfolding in an election year already shaped by scrutiny of aging political leaders. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), 84, spent nearly two months hospitalized after being found unconscious at home, while Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), 78, lost his August primary to 47-year-old Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, who campaigned on the message that it was time to pass the torch.
Markey, who was elected to the US House in 1976, tries to flash his vigor as he stumps around the state. On Saturday he was set to appear in Boston alongside democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), 84, and lefty Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), 77, plus “squad” member Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), 52.
