BOSTON (AP) — U.S. Rep. Seth MoultonThe moderate Massachusetts Democrat said Wednesday he plans to challenge the U.S. Senate. edward markey He argued that the time has come for the party to embrace a new generation of leadership in preparation for the Democratic nomination for next year’s Senate election.
The announcement makes the race one of the most anticipated primaries in the nation, pitting two top politicians from heavily Democratic states against each other. marquee, who I passed the challenge in 2020 The supporter from Sen. Joe Kennedy III in the Senate primary will turn 80 before his third six-year term begins.
Moulton, 46, said in a video accompanying his announcement that Democrats are stuck in the “status quo” and “are not fighting hard enough.”
“I’m getting as many questions about the failures of our party as I am about the failures of the Trump administration,” Moulton said in an interview Wednesday. “Democrats, of course across Massachusetts, because a lot of people believe they are not fighting hard enough.”
Moulton did not mention former President Joe Biden by name in his announcement video, but he did mention the 2024 presidential election, where there were concerns about Biden’s age and competency. his withdrawal from the race months before election day. This movement and the movement of Republican Donald Trump subsequent victory — Rekindled concerns among Democrats that the party’s leadership was being unfair. too old and is no longer in the best position to win.
“We are in a crisis, and given everything we learned in the last election, there is no way that Sen. Markey should run for another six-year term at age 80,” Moulton said in the video. “Furthermore, I don’t believe that someone who has been in Congress for half a century is the right person to rise to this moment and win the future.”
Moulton joined the Marines after the Sept. 11 attacks, served four tours in Iraq, and was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2014. Last year, he ran unopposed. In his announcement, Moulton said he would focus his campaign on issues such as affordability, health care, banning assault weapons and protecting democracy.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Moulton noted that he recently voted against a resolution honoring conservative activist Charlie Kirk. assassinated on the campus of the University of Utah Last month, as an example of standing by his principles. he participated dozens of other Democrats He said he voted no because “we were told by party leaders to vote yes just to get rid of this bill.”
“But personally, I believe that doing the right thing is more important than doing what is politically expedient,” Moulton said. “And I hope more Democrats, more Democratic leaders feel the same way.”
after the democrats lost the White House and both houses of Congress. Mr Moulton came under fire from some party members last year for not wanting his daughters to play sport. transgender girl. Critics said Moulton echoed Trump’s opposition to allowing transgender athletes to participate in women’s and women’s sports.
“My intention was never to hurt anyone,” Moulton said in an interview. “My intent was to point out that as a party we need to be prepared to have difficult conversations. And if we’re too afraid to have this debate, only conservative Republicans will have it.”
Marky has been here before. In 2020, he faced a fierce challenge from President Kennedy. He turned to progressive allies to overcome challenges from younger rivals from America’s most famous political family.
During that campaign, Mr. Markey appealed to voters in heavily Democratic states by positioning himself as aligned with the party’s liberal wing. He collaborated with New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a leading progressive, on the Green New Deal climate change initiative, and at one point labeled Kennedy a “progressive in name only.”
Mr. Markey, who was first elected to the House in 1976, said in an interview with WCVB-TV last year that he is the most “energized” he has ever been and plans to run again. He claimed that it was not his age, but the age of his ideas, adding, “I was always the youngest person in the room.”
