{"id":7269,"date":"2026-07-26T11:35:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T11:35:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7269"},"modified":"2026-07-26T11:35:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T11:35:23","slug":"massachusetts-democratic-senate-primary-sets-up-a-battle-of-generations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7269","title":{"rendered":"Massachusetts Democratic Senate primary sets up a battle of generations"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Rep. Seth Moulton, a frequent critic of the old guard of Democratic leadership in Congress, is now taking on one of his party\u2019s progressive stalwarts.\n <\/p>

Read more The US military hasn\u2019t blown up an alleged drug boat in a month. Has the campaign worked?<\/a><\/p>\n

\n 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.\n <\/p>\n

\n Markey, a longtime champion of progressive causes, said he is more energized than ever to fight back against the Trump administration.\n <\/p>\n

\n But Moulton warns there\u2019s a risk in letting the party\u2019s most senior members lead that fight.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe reality is that if we win the United States Senate, it\u2019ll probably be by one vote. We\u2019ve seen what\u2019s happened with Mitch McConnell. We\u2019ve seen what\u2019s happened with Joe Biden,\u201d he told CNN\u2019s Manu Raju.\n <\/p>\n

\n 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\u2019s health and whether he\u2019s fit to serve.\n <\/p>\n

\n And Democrats are still reeling from Biden\u2019s 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.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe just can\u2019t afford as a party to lose the majority,\u201d Moulton said, adding that he was in particular worried about the possibility of Republicans confirming another conservative justice to the Supreme Court.\n <\/p>\n

\n Though deep blue Massachusetts won\u2019t 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\u2019s presidency.\n <\/p>\n

\n 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.\n <\/p>\n

\n In an interview with CNN, Moulton made the case that despite his more centrist track record, in a race against one of the Senate\u2019s long-serving progressives, his youthfulness will bring the freshness that Democratic voters demand in Washington.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201c(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,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Markey disagreed, telling CNN, \u201cThis is the most energized I\u2019ve ever been. I battle Trump every single day on every single issue.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Markey\u2019s campaign called Moulton\u2019s push for the senator to release his health records a \u201cdesperate attempt\u201d at distraction as the two Democratic candidates point fingers over how much each has released about their personal finances.\n <\/p>\n

\n Pressed on the lingering anxiety among Democrats about the age of candidates in the post-Biden era, Markey retorted, \u201cIt\u2019s not your age, it\u2019s the age of your ideas. And in this race, I\u2019m the youngest guy.\u201d\n <\/p>

Read more \u2018Going it alone does not work\u2019: America\u2019s first one-party war<\/a><\/p>\n

\n \u201cThat\u2019s why all of the other progressive leaders in the nation are endorsing me in this race because it\u2019s all about ideas. It\u2019s all about looking ahead to the future,\u201d he said, pointing to fiscal and healthcare policies as areas where he and Moulton diverge.\n <\/p>\n

\n Moulton, who ran closer to the center of the ideological pack in the 2020 Democratic primary, brushes off what Markey called a \u201cbig difference\u201d in their positions, \u201cWe both have progressive values,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n

\n The Marine Corps veteran, who was first elected to Congress in 2014, has recently tacked further to the left on some issues \u2013 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.\n <\/p>\n

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\"Sen.<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n
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\nSen. Ed Markey speaks during the ICE Out for Good Protest at the US Customs and Border Protection Office in Washington, DC, on January 13.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Jemal Countess\/Getty Images for MoveOn Civic Action<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n While Markey was an original co-sponsor of Medicare for All, a proposed single-payer healthcare model, Moulton doesn\u2019t go as far \u2013 he backs a \u201cMedicare for all who want it\u201d public option model. Moulton points out that was favored by then-President Barack Obama but ultimately was dropped from his signature healthcare law.\n <\/p>\n

\n Moulton argues the key to a successful approach is new lawmakers in the Senate.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe 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,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Senate Democrats all opposed passing Trump\u2019s 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\u2019s leverage to push for an extension of health care tax credits.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cSenator Markey has the establishment support,\u201d Moulton said of his opponent, who counts liberal lawmakers Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren among his endorsers.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe reality is that everyone you\u2019ve 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\u2019ll support Sen. Schumer. He\u2019ll support the status quo,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Though Moulton told CNN he is getting questions from Massachusetts voters about the length of Markey\u2019s tenure, he is also having to answer for his stance on ideological questions facing the Democratic Party.\n <\/p>\n

\n In the wake of the 2024 election, Moulton made headlines for his assessment to the New York Times that Democrats spent \u201ctoo much time trying not to offend anyone\u201d as Republicans seized on the issue of transgender athletes in women\u2019s sports to score political gains.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI have two little girls, I don\u2019t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat I\u2019m supposed to be afraid to say that,\u201d Moulton told the paper.\n <\/p>\n

\n Markey has accused his opponent of throwing trans kids \u201cunder the political bus\u201d and blaming them for the party\u2019s losses.\n <\/p>\n

\n Years later, Moulton doesn\u2019t have a direct answer on how to appropriately handle the transgender athletes issue, but he thinks it\u2019s time for Democrats to wade into the debate on \u201cwhere you draw the line for fairness and competitiveness.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cTrans people are under attack all across America. All I\u2019m saying is that as a Democrat, we ought to be willing to take on these discussions,\u201d he said. \u201cWe shouldn\u2019t 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.\u201d\n <\/p>

Read more CNN Exclusive: How IndyCar\u2019s most ambitious street race became a test of politics, security and spectacle in Trump\u2019s DC<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rep. Seth Moulton, a frequent critic of the old guard of Democratic leadership in Congress, is now taking on one of his party\u2019s progressive stalwarts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7266,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nMassachusetts Democratic Senate primary sets up a battle of generations - Relocation Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7269\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Massachusetts Democratic Senate primary sets up a battle of generations - Relocation Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rep. 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