Sen. Ed Markey cruised to victory Tuesday in Massachusetts’ Democratic Senate primary, comfortably turning back a challenge from a much younger rival.
Markey, 80, defeated Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) by a decisive 76%-24% margin. The incumbent Democrat will now move on to face Republican John Deaton in the November general election.
The primary contest largely revolved around Markey’s age and whether the longtime liberal figure should serve a third Senate term. If re-elected, Markey would be 86 years old when his next term ends.
“Is he too old? Look, every political consultant will tell me not to say this, but the honest truth is, yes,” Moulton, 47, told the Boston Globe last fall as he launched his campaign against Markey.
Moulton, a six-term congressman, had also been among the first House Democrats to urge former President Joe Biden to abandon his re-election campaign amid questions about his age and mental sharpness. During the Senate race, he pointed to Markey’s difficulty answering a recent debate question about artificial intelligence as evidence that Massachusetts needed a generational shift in leadership.
Asked last week whether he uses Claude or ChatGPT, Markey appeared unfamiliar with the popular AI platforms.
“I use whatever is inside of my iPhone or my iPad — whatever comes up, and I don’t know what companies my iPad may be using,” the senator said in response.
Moulton quickly pressed the point, replying: “With all due respect, senator, if you don’t even know what you’re using on your phone or your iPad, like, this is why we need a new generation of leaders.”
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The congressman further argued that “not understanding the basics of AI – the most important technology of our lifetime – should be disqualifying for a US Senator.”
Markey, however, had strong support from both far-left and establishment elements of the Democratic Party.
The incumbent’s campaign received $62,000 boost from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), the campaign arm of Senate Democrats, less than three weeks before Election Day.
Markey received endorsements from socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), “Squad” Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
The octogenarian senator’s early support for the Green New Deal and so-called “Medicare for all” also helped win him the support of younger Dems.
On the campaign trail, Markey hammered Moulton over his critical comments about how Democrats approach the issue of transgender males playing in female sports.
The senator accused Moulton of throwing “trans kids under the bus,” for stating back in 2024 that he didn’t want his young daughters “getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete” and suggesting Democrats are afraid to take on the issue.
Moulton, however, seemed to walk back his position during a debate earlier this month.
“I think they should,” he said, when asked if transgender athletes should be allowed to take part in girls’ sports, adding that there should be “a discussion” about “issues of safety and fairness.”
