U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-6th District, is said to be weighing a 2026 primary bid against U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, setting up the Bay State’s first test of a broader desire for generational change on Capitol Hill.
The Boston Globe first reported the news on Tuesday.
In a statement, Moulton, 46, a U.S. Marine veteran, told The Globe that while he “[continues] to look at the best options to represent Massachusetts moving forward, I have not yet made a decision about running for U.S. Senate.”
Earlier this month, Moulton was spotted wandering the streets of his hometown of Salem earlier this month with a film crew in tow. He was silent about its purpose and his aspirations. But it added fuel to speculation about his ambitions.
Moulton’s is not the first high-profile name to emerge as a potential challenger for Markey, D-Mass., 79, who has been in Congress since the Carter administration.
Earlier this month, U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-4th District, ruled out a bid, saying he intended to focus on his own reelection in a pivotal midterm year, and on getting more Democrats elected to the narrowly divided U.S. House.
Right now, Markey, who would be 80 if he wins reelection next year, and 86 if he serves out another 6-year term, has only one declared challenger.
In May, Alex Rikleen, a political newcomer and fantasy sports writer, threw his hat into the ring, saying he wants to do more to fight the “existential threat” posed by Trump 2.0.
“Democrats the whole last campaign, the overwhelming message was ‘existential threat, existential threat,’” Rikleen told Politico. “And Ed Markey has been around for — this is his seventh new Republican administration — and I don’t see any difference in how he is responding to this new Republican administration versus any of the previous six.”
In June, charter school executive Earl Martin Phalen announced he was exploring a 2026 bid.
Markey has downplayed concerns about his age, remarking earlier this year that “it’s not your age. It’s the age of your ideas … I’m still the youngest guy in the room. Like Paul McCartney, I keep on rocking.“
While Markey could continue to marshal the support of progressives, Moulton, who is known for his political independence, could carve out a more moderate lane, appealing to independents who make up a large share of the state’s electorate.
Markey has traveled the state this year, racking up endorsements from senior members of the state’s Capitol Hill delegation, as well as local elected officials who would serve as the foot soldiers in any potential reelection bid.
Their ranks notably did not include Auchincloss or U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-7th District, who also has been mentioned as a potential candidate.
Still, “from the perspective of national and state Democrats, it’s good if [Markey] goes unchallenged by a Democrat,” veteran consultant Anthony Cignoli told MassLive. “He is instrumental in Democrats possibly retaking the Senate majority and helping others to win.”
And that makes him different from former President Joe Biden, who showed his age, and “was a gaffe machine before he was” in the White House, said Jerold Duquette, a Central Connecticut State University politics professor, who tracks Bay State politics, said.
Ultimately, it’ll be up to the voters to decide whether they want to change horses. And Bay Staters, generally, have been good about showing pols the door when they believe their time has come, Duquette observed.
“When you step back and look at the Massachusetts electorate, it’s a real thing and they enforce it,” Duquette noted.
“[Markey] has to show he is meeting the moment by running,” Duquette said.