BOSTON — Democrat Seth Moulton shook the state’s political establishment more than a decade ago when he ousted nine-term Congressman John Tierney in an upset victory.
Now the ex-Marine and six-term U.S. representative has set his sights on taking down another top Massachusetts Democrat, incumbent Sen. Ed Markey, who is seeking another six-year term in the midterm elections.
Moulton, 47, has framed his insurgent primary challenge around the push for generational change in the Democratic party after it lost the White House and Congress to Republicans in the 2024 election.
He says the Senate needs new leaders to push back against Republican president Donald Trump’s agenda for the next two years, and suggests that’s something that Democratic voters want, too.
“More than 7 in 10 Democrats believe that we need new leadership,” Moulton said during a recent meeting with the North of Boston Media Group’s editorial board, citing data from recent polls. “They want change, and Sen. Markey’s 50-year-old playbook just isn’t working.”
The former Marine captain who served four combat tours of duty in Iraq said despite his long tenure in Congress his political career has been built around fighting the political establishment.
He points to his toppling of Tierney in the 2014 Democratic primary, and later efforts to force then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi not to seek another term as the party’s leader in the chamber.
Moulton stresses his work in Congress over the years, including co-sponsoring legislation creating the 988 National Suicide lifeline, which advocates say has saved countless lives since it was implemented.
He also points to millions of dollars in federal funding he has shepherded to the state over the years.
“I can get things done,” he said. “I’m not sure what the senator is going to do in the next six years that he hasn’t done in the last 50 years. But we need a change.”
The congressman pushed back on claims by Markey and a super PAC backing the senator’s reelection bid that he has leveraged his position as a member of the House Armed Services Committee to get “sweetheart deals” that have increased his wealth over the past several years.
Moulton said the money from those investments comes from his wife, Liz, the chief talent officer at the executive search firm Elevate, not him. He said it’s “offensive” for the 79-year-old Markey to suggest that “only the man in the house is making money.”
“I married up — my wife makes more than me, and I’m proud of her,” Moulton said. “And like a lot of American families we’re investing because we want our kids to be able to go to college and afford a home one day.”
He said none of the investments have any business before the committees he serves on in Congress.
Moulton’s “affordability” agenda focuses on improving public transportation — specifically rail service — to help make it easier for people to get around and spur the development of new housing, tackling two of the state’s most pressing problems.
He talks about bringing together a consortium of government and private sector companies to redevelop eastern Massachusetts’ aging railroad lines by developing a high-speed system — including a tunnel under the city — with trains whisking commuters around the Greater Boston region.
“I think we need to recognize in Massachusetts is that our century-old MBTA is clearly not doing the job,” he said. “Traffic has never been worse and the only way out of this is to make a new generation rail system in eastern Massachusetts. The goal is simple: make it faster than driving.”
The project could save taxpayers money in the long term, he argues, because it would allow the state and city to sell off old rail yards that wouldn’t be needed with a high-speed system. He said studies have shown investments in high-speed rail service fuel new housing production.
It’s a familiar mantra for the veteran lawmaker, who has pushed for improving rail service nationwide during his years in Congress. He notes that countries like China and Japan, and dozens of cities like Paris and London, and have built high-speed rail systems that are the envy of the world.
“It’s not a radical proposal, but it would be a radical transformation,” he said. “Other countries and cities have proven it can be done.”
Moulton was first elected to Congress in 2014, after defeating Tierney and beating Republican Richard Tisei with 55% of the vote in the general election. He has won reelection six times, often without serious opposition.
He ran for president in 2020, but dropped out of the race before the primary. In the 2024 election, he won a sixth term.
Moulton picked up nearly 27% of the votes at the state Democratic Party’s convention, more than enough to secure a spot on the primary ballot.
Recent polls have shown a tightening race, with Markey’s lead over Moulton narrowing.
The winner of the Sept. 1 Democratic primary 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.