Senator Ed Markey has held off Seth Moulton's age challenge after winning the Democratic primary for Senate in Massachusetts on Tuesday, September 1, 2026. Moulton, 47, had challenged incumbent Markey by arguing to voters that his opponent was too old to be effective at his job. Moulton had served six House terms and made every attempt to sell his youth to voters as an asset, but failed after Markey, an 80-year-old who has been on Capitol Hill for five decades, beat him on Tuesday night.
With roughly 91% of the total votes counted as of 1:41 a.m. ET on September 2, the incumbent led Moulton by nearly 30 points, according to CNN projections. The debate surrounding long-serving lawmakers heated up when the two candidates faced off in a debate in August. Senator Markey challenged his opponent, saying, "I think everyone watching this debate can see that I'm more energised than I've ever been before in my life. I am crisscrossing the state. I'm fighting for families."
Moulton said his opponent had spent less time holding town halls and candidate forums, and attacked when the senator responded to a question about what AI tools he used by answering, "Whatever is inside of my iPhone and my iPad - whatever comes up." In response, Moulton said, "Senator, if you don't even know what you're using on your phone or your iPad, this is why we need a new generation of leaders to regulate these technologies to make sure that they are safe."
Markey, who was first elected to the House in 1976, has been viewed as a leading advocate of proposals to set up a universal single-payer healthcare system and draft energy policies with far-reaching consequences, known as the "Green New Deal." On the other hand, Moulton, who was first elected to the House after winning a northeastern Massachusetts district in 2014, is opposed to single-payer healthcare proposals. In deep-blue Massachusetts, the prospects of Markey winning a third full term in the upcoming November midterms are strong. Markey will face Republican nominee John Deaton in the November midterms.