Massachusetts Democratic Senate primary sets up a battle of generations

By Alison Main, CNN

(CNN) — Rep. Seth Moulton, a frequent critic of the old guard of Democratic leadership in Congress, is now taking on one of his party’s progressive stalwarts.

The 47-year-old is running to unseat 80-year-old Sen. Ed Markey, who has represented Massachusetts in Congress since before Moulton was born.

Markey, a longtime champion of progressive causes, said he is more energized than ever to fight back against the Trump administration.

But Moulton warns there’s a risk in letting the party’s most senior members lead that fight.

“The reality is that if we win the United States Senate, it’ll probably be by one vote. We’ve seen what’s happened with Mitch McConnell. We’ve seen what’s happened with Joe Biden,” he told CNN’s Manu Raju.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, the longest serving GOP leader, has been absent from the halls of Congress since he was hospitalized last month, drawing speculation about the 84-year-old’s health and whether he’s fit to serve.

And Democrats are still reeling from Biden’s jarring decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race due to concerns about his age and health, leaving then-Vice President Kamala Harris in an all-out campaign sprint against Donald Trump.

“We just can’t afford as a party to lose the majority,” Moulton said, adding that he was in particular worried about the possibility of Republicans confirming another conservative justice to the Supreme Court.

Though deep blue Massachusetts won’t decide which party holds power in the Senate, the September 1 primary will serve as another litmus test of the type of politician Democrats want to represent them for the last two years of Trump’s presidency.

Some Democrats see inroads made by left-wing candidates as a wave of fresh energy that could invigorate a base that is hungry for change and defiance in the face of Trump.

In an interview with CNN, Moulton made the case that despite his more centrist track record, in a race against one of the Senate’s long-serving progressives, his youthfulness will bring the freshness that Democratic voters demand in Washington.

“(Markey) came to Washington before Jimmy Carter, and we should honor him for that service. But there comes a time for all of us to pass the torch for the next generation,” he said.

Markey disagreed, telling CNN, “This is the most energized I’ve ever been. I battle Trump every single day on every single issue.”

Markey’s campaign called Moulton’s push for the senator to release his health records a “desperate attempt” at distraction as the two Democratic candidates point fingers over how much each has released about their personal finances.

Pressed on the lingering anxiety among Democrats about the age of candidates in the post-Biden era, Markey retorted, “It’s not your age, it’s the age of your ideas. And in this race, I’m the youngest guy.”

“That’s why all of the other progressive leaders in the nation are endorsing me in this race because it’s all about ideas. It’s all about looking ahead to the future,” he said, pointing to fiscal and healthcare policies as areas where he and Moulton diverge.

Moulton, who ran closer to the center of the ideological pack in the 2020 Democratic primary, brushes off what Markey called a “big difference” in their positions, “We both have progressive values,” he said.

The Marine Corps veteran, who was first elected to Congress in 2014, has recently tacked further to the left on some issues – calling to abolish US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and pledging to return donations from the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC. On others, Moulton advocates for what he views as a more tactful approach.

While Markey was an original co-sponsor of Medicare for All, a proposed single-payer healthcare model, Moulton doesn’t go as far – he backs a “Medicare for all who want it” public option model. Moulton points out that was favored by then-President Barack Obama but ultimately was dropped from his signature healthcare law.

Moulton argues the key to a successful approach is new lawmakers in the Senate.

“The status quo, the Schumer leadership in the United States Senate, has allowed a second term of Donald Trump, has not been effective at fighting off the MAGA Republicans,” he said.

Senate Democrats all opposed passing Trump’s domestic policy agenda, which resulted in drastic cuts to Medicare and other entitlement programs, last summer. But Markey has not directly called for the ouster of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who faced public backlash after allowing some members of his caucus to vote for a short-term funding bill that ended a record shutdown but weakened the party’s leverage to push for an extension of health care tax credits.

“Senator Markey has the establishment support,” Moulton said of his opponent, who counts liberal lawmakers Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren among his endorsers.

“The reality is that everyone you’ve mentioned has been in Washington for a very long time, and if you honestly think things are going well, then vote for Sen. Markey. He’ll support Sen. Schumer. He’ll support the status quo,” he said.

Though Moulton told CNN he is getting questions from Massachusetts voters about the length of Markey’s tenure, he is also having to answer for his stance on ideological questions facing the Democratic Party.

In the wake of the 2024 election, Moulton made headlines for his assessment to the New York Times that Democrats spent “too much time trying not to offend anyone” as Republicans seized on the issue of transgender athletes in women’s sports to score political gains.

“I have two little girls, I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat I’m supposed to be afraid to say that,” Moulton told the paper.

Markey has accused his opponent of throwing trans kids “under the political bus” and blaming them for the party’s losses.

Years later, Moulton doesn’t have a direct answer on how to appropriately handle the transgender athletes issue, but he thinks it’s time for Democrats to wade into the debate on “where you draw the line for fairness and competitiveness.”

“Trans people are under attack all across America. All I’m saying is that as a Democrat, we ought to be willing to take on these discussions,” he said. “We shouldn’t trust the Republicans to have that discussion. And when Democrats refuse to have honest debate about these difficult issues, then the only ones who are setting policy are the MAGA Republicans.”

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.