Invoking the specter of Joe Biden and decrying Democrats whom he says have “clung to the status quo, insisted on using the same old playbook – and isn’t fighting hard enough,” Rep. Seth Moulton launched a primary challenge on Wednesday against Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey.
Moulton, a 46-year-old six-term congressman who spent much of his early years in Congress leading challenges to then-House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, said he’s running because he doesn’t have faith in Markey — not to serve out another Senate term capably, and not to be able to lead the pushback to the current White House.
“Democrats have failed to stop Donald Trump’s harmful, racist agenda,” Moulton says in his campaign launch video. “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. We’re in a crisis. And with everything we learned in the last election, I just don’t believe Senator Markey should be running for another six-year term at 80 years old.”
Markey was a longtime member of the House before being appointed to an open Senate seat in 2013. He won a full term the following year, and then another in 2020 despite a primary challenge from then-Rep. Joe Kennedy III – the first time a member of the Kennedy dynasty had ever lost in the state. In that race, Markey was embraced by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York for their collaboration on the Green New Deal and was suddenly turned into a hero of that wing of the party.
Other Massachusetts politicians considered taking on Markey this year, with several looking at internal polling showing him vulnerable in the solidly Democratic state where the primary winner would be heavily favored to win the seat. Fellow Rep. Ayanna Pressley has also been rumored to be looking at a possible run.
Several Democrats in their 70s and 80s are facing primary challenges or retiring after younger Democrats announced bids against them explicitly over age. First elected in 1976, Markey is the longest serving current Democrat in Congress.
“The old playbook isn’t working, so this is exactly the debate Democrats need to have right now,” Moulton told CNN earlier this week. “Personally, I don’t get saying we want to build the future while recycling leadership from the past. Voters are asking for new energy, new ideas, and leadership that fights like hell against Trump but also lays out a positive vision for America.”
In his video, which in a clear effort to show his vitality is largely presented with a camera mounted on him as he goes on a run, Moulton references an experience from when he served in the Marine Corps, when at the end of a battle he found a fellow Marine dead, and thought if he’d gotten there a little earlier, the man would not have died alone.
“That’s why I won’t wait to help people who need help right now,” Moulton says. “It’s why I won’t wait to do the hard thing and call out what’s not working in our own party. And it’s why we can’t wait to protect our families from Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans.”
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