Massachusetts Democrats head to the polls Tuesday to make their pick in a race that’s been slated as an outlier from the norms seen in Democratic races this cycle.
Specifically, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the octogenarian incumbent known for his deeply progressive politics, is facing a challenge from Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.).
Markey heads into the night with favorable signs—though this election cycle has proven volatile and produced upsets in a series of key races prior.
Markey was the Senate sponsor of the Green New Deal alongside Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who sponsored the bill in the House. This cycle, he’s won the support of top progressives ranging from Ocasio-Cortez to Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
Moulton and his allies have slated the race as a referendum on the 80-year-old Markey’s age rather than a referendum on his politics.
Moulton was endorsed by The Boston Globe and by several current and former House colleagues, including New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill.
Moulton has pressed the age argument in the campaign’s final stretch.
“The world has changed, and Senator Markey is very much running the same campaign he did back in 2020,” Moulton told CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Aug. 23.
He pointed to a moment in a recent debate in which he said Markey, asked whether he used AI, responded that he used “whatever is inside of [his] iPhone and [his] iPad, whatever comes up.”
“The world has just moved on,” Moulton said. “It’s not a personal thing with Ed Markey. It’s about whether one Senate seat should belong to one person while the world is moving on without him.”
Polling suggests that Massachusetts voters are likelier to move on from Moulton after Tuesday’s election: Markey has retained a strong position in polling, leading by double-digit margins in every poll conducted of the race.
He also has the support of state Democratic officials. A majority of delegates to the state party convention in May voted to endorse him, though Moulton drew enough support to qualify for the ballot.
It suggests—at least heading into the night—that Democrats currently favor candidates with a proven progressive track record over a younger candidate.
Experts who discussed the race with The Epoch Times have taken a skeptical tone toward Moulton’s odds, based on this argument alone, noting the race’s unusual ideological elements.
“Massachusetts is testing whether generational change is actually an ideology or merely an attribute,” said Michael Fahey, founder and CEO of Fahey Communications, a Boston political and public relations strategist and former television news executive who covered both men as a journalist.
“In many Democratic primaries, younger challengers have succeeded because youth came packaged with a different ideological vision. Massachusetts is different. Moulton has the generational argument, while Markey has the stronger claim on the progressive movement.”
Markey, who first entered the Senate in 2013 after nearly 37 years in the House, has fielded a different version of this argument before.
In 2020, he turned back a primary challenge from then-Rep. Joseph Kennedy III, 55 percent to 45 percent, running with the backing of younger progressives and campaigning on the Green New Deal.
Chase Smith contributed to this report.
We had a problem loading this article. Please enable javascript or use a different browser. If the issue persists, please visit our help center.