A Generational Fight in Massachusetts
Massachusetts Democrats head to the polls on September 1 to decide the party's nominee for S. Senate, with Senator Ed Markey seeking a third full term against a primary challenge from Representative Seth Moulton. At its center is a generational fight: Markey, 80, has spent nearly five decades in Congress, while Moulton, 47, has made the case that it's time for new leadership, pointing to Markey's age and tenure as reasons voters should look elsewhere.
Moulton has built his campaign primarily around that argument, framing the race as a choice between the past and the future of the Democratic Party. Markey, meanwhile, has leaned into his long progressive record rather than run from his tenure, casting himself as the more experienced and more consistently left-leaning candidate in the race. The result, as reported by com, is a primary that doesn't split cleanly along the usual moderate-versus-progressive lines, forcing voters to weigh generational change against experience.
Polls Show Markey Ahead
Senator Markey holds a substantial polling lead over Representative Moulton ahead of the primary, according to Newsweek. The latest Emerson College poll, conducted August 28-29, showed Markey leading by 31 points, 60 percent to 33 percent. In May, the same pollster showed Markey leading by only 5 points, 37 percent to 32 percent, indicating a significant shift toward the incumbent over the summer.
A University of Massachusetts Amherst poll, surveying 445 self-identified Democratic primary voters from August 5-12, showed Markey with 60 percent support compared to Moulton's 32 percent. A Suffolk University and The Boston Globe poll showed Markey up nearly 15 points.
David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, told Newsweek he believes Markey has a substantial advantage heading into the primary. "When we released our final poll three weeks ago, I stated that this race was never close in the polling and that Markey had locked up the demographics he needed to win. I stand by that statement today," Paleologos said.
The Ideological Divide
The primary challenge comes amid an anti-incumbent wave that has swept through this year's Democratic primaries, with several longtime incumbents losing to political newcomers. But Massachusetts has different ideological dynamics at play, as Newsweek noted. Markey has positioned himself as one of the most progressive senators, touting his support for Medicare for All and the Green New Deal, while Moulton is viewed as more moderate. Moulton, who represents a district based around the North Shore, has criticized his party's position on transgender rights and has declined to support Medicare for All.
The primary will gauge whether Democrats in a solidly liberal state are willing to ditch a longtime senator whose age has drawn scrutiny, even when the challenger is not as progressive, according to Newsweek.
Race Context
The Massachusetts primary election is set for September 1, with polls open from 7 m. to 8 m. on Tuesday. The winner will face Republican John Deaton, viewed as the presumptive Republican nominee, in the general election. A UMass Amherst poll showed Markey leading Deaton by 21 points, 51 percent to 30 percent.
Markey's position echoes past races: he won against Joseph Kennedy III in the 2020 Democratic primary by nearly 10 points, and Massachusetts voters have previously sent other aging progressives back to Washington, including 84-year-old Senator Bernie Sanders, who won reelection in 2024. Paleologos told Newsweek he doesn't believe the race will become competitive "because Donald Trump will still be the president for two more years."