Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass) announced Wednesday that he will challenge Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass) for his Massachusetts Senate seat, arguing that the 79-year-old lawmaker, who has served in Congress since 1976, is “too old.”
“Is he too old?” Moulton said in an interview with the Boston Globe. “Look, every political consultant will tell me not to say this, but the honest truth is, yes.”
“Senator Markey is a very nice guy,” the congressman continued, “but he’s been in Congress for 50 years, and he’ll be 86 years old at the end of his next term as our junior senator.”
Moulton, a 46-year old Iraq War veteran and six-term congressman, acknowledged that he and Markey see eye-to-eye on “the vast majority of issues,” but said, “it’s time for a new generation of leadership for Democrats and for America.”
In his campaign launch video, Moulton cited the lessons learned from the 2024 presidential election, which saw Kamala Harris get trounced by President Trump after she replaced Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket, amid mounting concerns about his age and mental acuity.
“We’re in a crisis, and with everything we learned last election, I just don’t believe Sen. Markey should be running for another six-year-term at 80-years-old,” Moulton said in the clip. “Even more, I don’t think someone who has been in Congress for half-a-century is the right person to meet this moment and win the future.”
Moulton called on Biden to drop out of the race last July in a Boston Globe op-ed, revealing that the then-president “didn’t seem to recognize me” in a small group setting at a D-Day anniversary event in Normandy earlier in the year.
The congressman also called out Democratic leadership, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
“Real people across Massachusetts are being hurt by Democratic leaders refusing to do everything they can to win,” he argued. “We’ve got to look in the mirror and be honest: it’s time for change.”
Moulton told the Boston Globe that if elected he would “vote no on Senator Schumer for majority leader, because I believe our party needs new energy.”
The congressman said he’d champion “big, forward-looking, progressive solutions” if elected to the Senate.
He specifically cited “universal healthcare,” “high-speed rail,” “affordable housing,” “banning assault weapons” and “fighting climate change” as issues he’d take on.
Markey’s campaign did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
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