Congressman Seth Moulton will challenge Sen. Ed Markey for US Senate seat

BOSTON — For the second election cycle in a row, U.S. Sen. Ed Markey will face a challenge from a younger Democrat in the state’s Congressional delegation.

Congressman Seth Moulton of Salem announced Wednesday morning that he will run for U.S. Senate next year, arguing that Massachusetts cannot wait another six years to install someone from a younger generation in the Senate. The Democrat has not been shy about challenging members of his own party -- he won his seat in the U.S. House in 2014 by defeating longtime Democratic Congressman John Tierney, briefly challenged U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi for the speaker’s gavel in 2018 and joined a crowded field for president in 2019.

“Our party has clung to the status quo, insisted on using the same old playbook, and isn’t fighting hard enough. The next generation will keep paying the cost if we don’t change course. This isn’t a fight we can put off for another six years. The future we all believe in is on the line,” Moulton said in his introduction video.

The 46-year-old (turns 47 this month) adds, “We’re in a crisis, and with everything we learned last election, I just don’t believe Senator Markey should be running for another six-year term at 80 years old, even more, I don’t think someone who’s been in Congress for half a century is the right person to meet this moment and win the future.”

Democrats limped out of the 2024 national elections without control of the White House or either branch of Congress, and President Donald Trump returned to office having improved his standing with some voters.

Moulton made waves early in his party’s self-reflection period with comments about transgender athletes, telling the New York Times that Democrats “spend way too much time trying not to offend anyone rather than being brutally honest about the challenges many Americans face.”

Gov. Maura Healey and other Massachusetts Democrats publicly spoke against Moulton’s commentary on transgender athletes. His comments also started a push to challenge Moulton in the 2026 primary, and his announcement will mean an open contest for the 6th Congressional District U.S. House seat north of Boston.

In his announcement, Moulton’s campaign said he is focused on “affordability, health care, climate change, banning assault weapons and protecting our democracy.” His announcement cites his authorship of “the most ambitious high-speed rail plan in decades” and his work to launch a bipartisan 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Markey, 79, often cites the “age of your ideas” as most critical and has steadily rolled out endorsements from scores of federal, state and local elected officials as he has made his case for reelection. In the last week alone, he has announced the backing of the Mass. Nurses Association, League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, five state senators and more than a dozen state representatives from Greater Boston and a handful of mayors. House Speaker Ronald Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka endorsed Markey in September.

“While Congressman Moulton is launching a political campaign during a government shutdown, Senator Markey is doing his job—voting against Trump’s extremist agenda and working to stop the MAGA attacks on health care so that we can reopen the government, Cam Charbonnier, campaign manager for Senator Markey, said in a statement. “That’s what leadership looks like and what the residents of Massachusetts expect from their Senator,” he added.

Moulton completed four combat tours in Iraq as an infantry officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. In Salem, he co-founded and was president of Eastern Healthcare Partners.

In a recent poll by Advantage, Inc. for the Fiscal Alliance Foundation, Moulton was ahead of Markey 43% to 21% among all likely general election voters, with 36% undecided. Among likely Democratic primary voters, Moulton was chosen by 38% to Markey’s 30%.

In 2020, when Markey faced a primary challenge from then-Congressman Joseph Kennedy III, the Malden Democrat took 55% of the primary vote to Kennedy’s 45%. Markey won reelection by defeating Republican Kevin O’Connor.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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