Voters in Massachusetts will decide on Tuesday whether to stick with long-tenured lawmakers or hand the ballot line to younger challengers who argue the state needs new energy in Congress.
On the Senate side, progressive U.S. Senator Ed Markey, 80, who has served in Congress for nearly 50 years, is defending his seat against Representative Seth Moulton, 47. Markey has secured the backing of prominent progressive leaders, including Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as well as endorsements from most members of the state's congressional delegation, among them Senator Elizabeth Warren. No members of that delegation have publicly endorsed Moulton.
Moulton, a moderate and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, counts supporters such as New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill and the advocacy organization VoteVets. The Boston Globe's editorial board has urged voters to choose Moulton, describing him as a necessary agent of change with ‘‘proven leadership skills’’ and positions that align with the paper's assessment of voter priorities.
Fundraising and polling have so far favored Markey. He holds a near $2 million fundraising advantage over Moulton and has led in recent polls by a double-digit margin. Given the Democratic lean of the state, the winner of the party primary is considered heavily favored to win in November - a point underscored by the fact that Democrat Kamala Harris carried the state by nearly 25 percentage points in 2024.
The generational theme is echoed in a House contest within the Boston area. Incumbent Representative Stephen Lynch, 71, faces a challenge from Patrick Roath, 39, an attorney who has cast his campaign as a call for more ambitious representation. The Boston Globe editorial board has also endorsed Roath, arguing the younger candidate ‘‘gives every indication he can do better, think bigger, and aim higher as a member of Congress’’ compared with Lynch, whom the editorial described as providing ‘‘backbench representation.’’
Roath has shown financial momentum, reporting $1.3 million in fundraising to Lynch's $910,000, and recent polling has narrowed the gap between the candidates. A survey commissioned by Leaders We Deserve, a group backing Roath, found Lynch's lead had fallen to seven percentage points. By contrast, a February poll conducted for Roath showed him trailing Lynch by 26 points. Lynch was reelected in 2024 by a 50-point margin.
Observers point to a broader pattern in which Democratic voters around the country have often favored younger, more progressive challengers this year, a trend that has coincided with the removal of incumbents in states including New York, Colorado and Michigan. In Massachusetts, Democrats currently hold all nine U.S. House seats and both U.S. Senate seats, and the victors of these primaries are widely viewed as heavily favored heading into November.