In an election cycle where young socialists have been knocking off members of the Old Guard, 80-year-old Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey is out to prove he’s radical enough to survive.
The oldest Dem seeking reelection this year partnered with AOC on her “Green New Deal” in 2019 and touts “Medicare for All,” which has become a rallying cry for the socialist wing of the party.
He is up by double digits in the polls against Marine Corps vet Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), 47, who faces off with Markey Tuesday in the deep blue state — and began his campaign against him by calling him “too old.”
Moulton ran for president in 2019 and pulled the plug after four months. He is considered a centrist, but says Democrats “need to fight Trump harder.”
A University of New Hampshire poll out last week shows how key age is to his support – but indicates Massachusetts voters prefer Markey even while doubting he’ll make it through a six-year term in good shape.
The poll shows 27% of Markey’s voters back him for his politics or ideology, while 58% of Moulton supporters back him because of “age.”
“Markey is too old and too far left,” said one respondent who supports Moulton. A stunning 43% believe Markey “probably would not” or “definitely would not” be mentally and physically capable of serving out his term. Thirty-four percent say he would, and 23% don’t know. But Markey leads comfortably anyway, 63-28.
The latest poll comes during an election year where 84-year-old Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was hospitalized for nearly two months after being found unconscious in his home, and Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), 78, lost his primary in August to Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, 47, who told voters it was time to pass the torch.
Markey, who was elected to the US House in 1976, tries to flash his vigor as he stumps around the state. On Saturday he was set to appear in Boston alongside democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), 84, and lefty Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), 77, plus “squad” member Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), 52.
