Massachusetts Democrats Embrace the Gerontocracy
Senator Ed Markey secured a decisive victory in the Massachusetts Democratic primary, defeating younger challenger Seth Moulton. The result highlights a continued preference among some Democratic voters for established progressive incumbents over calls for generational change.
Why it matters
The election results challenge the narrative that Democratic voters are universally seeking to replace older politicians following the 2024 election cycle.
Ed Markey will be 86 at the end of his next term.
Ed Markey ( Craig F. Walker / The Boston Globe / Getty ) September 1, 2026, 9:01 PM ET Share Save M any Democrats of a certain age took the same message from the party’s 2024 debacle: Voters are sick of the old guard and craving younger, more aggressive leaders. Better to retire on your own terms than suffer the fate of Joe Biden, forced to stand down from his reelection campaign after a public humiliation. Nancy Pelosi, the 86-year-old former speaker, announced her exit from the House, as did her longtime lieutenant, 87-year-old Steny Hoyer. Senators Dick Durbin (81) and Jeanne Shaheen (79) passed up reelection bids this year, and so, too, did two senators merely in their late 60s.
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