Can 80-year-old Democrat Ed Markey clinch another US Senate term?

Age on the agenda in Massachusetts but octogenarian leftwinger leads younger rival Seth Moulton in primary poll Democrats have spent the summer ousting long-serving incumbents in primaries across the country. On Tuesday, Massachusetts voters will decide whether that generational revolt extends to the 80-year-old Ed Markey, whose younger Democratic rival has argued that the incumbent is simply too old to serve another term. But the Senate primary in this heavily Democratic state flips a central dynamic of previous contests, where youthful progressive insurgents have targeted – and in several cases, toppled – older incumbents they derided as avatars of an outmoded cautious establishment. Continue reading...

Robert Tait in Washington · Tue, Sep 1, 2026, 3:00 AM
US news | The Guardian

Can 80-year-old Democrat Ed Markey clinch another US Senate term?

Age on the agenda in Massachusetts but octogenarian leftwinger leads younger rival Seth Moulton in primary poll

Democrats have spent the summer ousting long-serving incumbents in primaries across the country. On Tuesday, Massachusetts voters will decide whether that generational revolt extends to the 80-year-old Ed Markey, whose younger Democratic rival has argued that the incumbent is simply too old to serve another term.

But the Senate primary in this heavily Democratic state flips a central dynamic of previous contests, where youthful progressive insurgents have targeted – and in several cases, toppled – older incumbents they derided as avatars of an outmoded cautious establishment.

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