Massachusetts Sen. Markey, 80, Fends Off Challenge From Younger Democrat in Primary

The party that has been stung over and over again by the gerontocracy and the diminishing returns that come with age — from Joe Biden to Dianne Feinstein to Eleanor Holmes Norton — was offered an off-ramp to another potential catastrophe within the establishment on Tuesday.

Surprise of surprises, it sped right on past.

In a race that was mostly seen as a litmus test on whether or not Democrats would keep electing officials to terms they couldn’t honestly say they could complete in full health and sound mind, 80-year-old Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts won the nomination for the Senate seat in a reliably Democratic state over 47-year-old U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton.

Yes, we’re now in an era where 47 represents “a new generation of leadership,” as Moulton put it. The last president from Massachusetts, you may recall, was just one year younger when he died, and he had already served as a representative and senator before assuming the presidency.

But according to The Washington Post, Massachusetts voters still think that Markey will be up to the task when he’s 86, overwhelmingly sending him back (yeah, there’s a Republican in the general election, but this is Massachusetts) by a 64.9 percent to 35.1 percent margin.

“Despite a rough year for establishment candidates, Markey led in polls throughout the race, in large part because he is viewed as more progressive in a state that skews leftward,” the outlet reported, noting that Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had supported him.

Markey’s progressive bona fides, such as they exist, include loudly banging on about how the Democrats need to expand the Supreme Court because seats were “stolen” from them by those lousy Republicans. He’s promised to nuke the filibuster and basically put the entire population of Seattle on the high court if he gets the chance.

He also believes boys who identify as transgender should be able to play in girls’ sports, and Moulton doesn’t. In other words, he’s stuck in the summer of 2020, and probably always will be.

“Massachusetts needs a senator who stands up and fights back, a senator who never forgets who they are fighting for,” Markey said in his victory speech, according to the Associated Press.

“That has been the mission of my life, and it always will be.”

Realistically, outside of court packing, Markey is no longer a change agent and shows no signs of becoming one if given another six years in the upper chamber. He’s been in Congress since Gerald Ford was president and was handed John Kerry’s Senate seat when Kerry became Secretary of State under Obama. But, he insisted Tuesday, just because he lacks any sort of major accomplishment in the role doesn’t mean he’s not getting the little things done.

“Generational change isn’t about compromising, to do the small things better,” Markey told supporters. “It’s about fighting to do the big things best.”

Right. Like cable media hits, which Markey has become the undisputed champion of. Think Michael Avenatti, just over a longer period of time, with an elected office, and without any felony convictions or disbarments. But more of a crank:

Democrat Senator Ed Markey is leading Democrats’ attempt to pack the Supreme Court:

“I am the author of the court expansion bill…the only way to solve this problem in a very short period of time is to expand the Supreme Court…” pic.twitter.com/K950tx925a

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 1, 2026

When not on friendly territory like CNN or MS NOW, however, he looks a lot more like this rhetorical mess that’s definitely showing his age:

Senator Markey led Democrat efforts to censor conservatives. Now, he’s engaged in nothing more than projection and distortion.

On my watch, the FCC is holding broadcasters accountable to their public interest obligations. pic.twitter.com/2vQpwOcHmG

— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) December 18, 2025

Here’s a man who, just in the 21st century alone, has been an election denier (he refused to vote to certify the 2004 Ohio results as a House member, thanks to the vague conspiracy theories that election machines manufactured by Diebold handed George W. Bush the state or whatever) and a supporter of convicting an impeached former president for denying election results:

Donald Trump is responsible for the coup that is unfolding at the Capitol. He is a fascist and a direct threat to our country.

— Ed Markey (@EdMarkey) January 6, 2021

Court packing is not going to happen anytime soon, and it likely won’t be happening with Markey leading the charge. What will happen is that we’ll end up with another Biden, another Feinstein, another Holmes Norton: Someone elected to do an exigent job for a constituency while being past that sad but inescapable point of diminishing returns that comes with age.

The only good thing that could be said about Tuesday’s result, I suppose, is that it couldn’t happen to a better state than the only one which cast its electoral votes for George McGovern in 1972.

If you’re too young to know who that is, just ask Ed Markey. That is, if he remembers.

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