BOSTON — Incumbent Sen. Ed Markey is making his case for another six-year term in a tightening U.S. Senate race as the primary draws closer.
Markey, 79, is seeking to keep his Senate seat amid questions of generational power in U.S. politics, which continue to loom over the Democratic party after former President Joe Biden’s embarrassing exit from the 2024 presidential race.
His younger Democratic rival, 47-year-old U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, is making age a key factor in his insurgent primary challenge.
But the Malden Democrat — who has served more than 50 years in Congress — says his long record of accomplishments gives him an advantage over his younger challenger and is why voters should send him back to Washington for another term.
“It’s not your age, it’s the age of your ideas,” Markey said during a recent meeting with the North of Boston Media Group’s editorial board, repeating a mantra he has often used to parry criticism of his age.
“I have always been looking ahead and leading the way, and partnering with the progressive, forward-looking members of our delegation and across the country.”
Markey touted his efforts in Washington over the past two years to push back against Republican President Donald Trump’s divisive second-term policies on immigration, rolling back transgender protections and cuts in federal spending that have affected healthcare and public safety.
“This is the most energized I have ever been in fighting Donald Trump,” he said.
On the campaign trail, Markey has cited his Green New Deal plan to address climate change, support for Medicare-for-All proposals and other proposals that resonate with the Democratic Party’s progressive left flank.
He says if Democrats win back the Senate in the midterm elections, he would be well positioned to block the White House’s policies as a senior ranking member of several key Senate committees.
That includes the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions that has jurisdiction over domestic social policy, which Markey is likely to lead if Democrats retake the Senate.
“We need someone who knows how to get things done,” Markey said. “The state wants people who are going to be in key positions in the Senate on Day 1 to be able to deliver. And I have a proven track record of delivering for the state and communities across this region.”
He said one of the first orders of business would be reversing “devastating” healthcare cuts from Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was signed into law last year. Massachusetts alone stands to lose more than $1.75 billion in direct federal funding for its Medicaid programs.
“I will be leading the effort to restore the $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts and restore the $300 billion to the Affordable Care Act that would devastate hospitals across our country,” he said.
Markey said as chairman of the powerful HELP committee he would also be pushing for universal healthcare and wants to “double” federal spending on scientific and medical research through the federal National Institutes of Health to help find cures for diseases.
Markey’s argument that voters aren’t concerned about his age is reflected in recent polling, which suggests the issue is less important to voters than others facing the state and the nation, and that disappointment with the Democratic Party is not affecting voters’ views ahead the midterms.
Markey has touted endorsements from fellow Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Cambridge, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, all darlings among progressives.
Several members of the state’s all-Democrat congressional delegation, including Reps. Lori Trahan, D-Westford, and Katherine Clark, D-Revere, have also endorsed Markey’s reelection campaign.
He’s also picked up endorsements from Democratic state lawmakers and mayors in the North of Boston region.
Markey was first elected to the Senate in 2013 after winning John Kerry’s former seat.
A former congressman, he deflected a Senate Democratic primary challenge in the 2020 elections with a 10-point victory over Rep. Joe Kennedy III, becoming the first to defeat a member of the state’s storied political family in a statewide campaign.
As he has in previous reelection campaigns, Markey stresses his blue-collar roots in Lawrence to frame his political philosophy and progressive values.
“That’s what animates me,” Markey said. “I know how fortunate I am to have been given all those opportunities, and that’s what I fight for every single day on the floor of the U.S. Senate. And I’m going to continue to do so.”
The Democratic primary will be held Sept. 1. The winner will face Republican John Deaton, a cryptocurrency attorney and advocate, making his second run for U.S. Senate.
Christian M. Wade covers Massachusetts state government and politics for CNHI News and North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.