Almost two years after questions about former President Joe Biden's age divided Democrats, primary voters are poised to reelect the party's oldest Senate member.
Sen. Ed Markey, of Massachusetts, an 80-year-old incumbent, is considered the favorite against Rep. Seth Moulton, a 47-year-old challenger, who has run largely on generational change, which has been an undercurrent of the 2026 midterms.
Markey, first elected to Congress in 1976, is leading in every public poll, while being backed by a gallery of well-known progressives, such as Rep. Alexandria Oscasio-Cortez, D-New York, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont.
An Aug. 17 UMass Poll showed 60% of Massachusetts Democrats said they are planning to vote for or leaning towards Markey, compared
to 32% for Moulton. Another University of New Hampshire poll released Aug. 26 found Markey leading 63% to Moulton’s 28%.
Three other elections on the Bay State ballot Sept. 1 also feature clashes along generational lines, with House Democratic incumbents as old as 77 facing primary foes as young as 27.
Contributing: Margie Cullen
Challengers stress generational change in contested primaries for US House
04:16 PM ET, September 1 2026, Margie Cullen
All of Massachusetts nine House seats are considered safe Democratic seats. But the current representatives face more primary challenges than usual this year, with many revolving around generational change.
Here are the contested Democratic primaries:
1st Congressional District: Incumbent Richard Neal, 77, vs. Jeromie Whalen, 39, a teacher. This district covers the western and some central parts of the state, including the city of Springfield.
4th Congressional District: Incumbent Jake Auchincloss, 38, vs. Jason Poulos, 40, an AI researcher. This district goes from communities right outside Boston, like Newton and Brookline, down to the Rhode Island border and Fall River.
5th Congressional District: Incumbent House minority whip Katherine Clark, 63, vs. Tarik Samman, a 27-year-old union organizer and Harvard Law School researcher, and Jonathan Paz, a 33-year-old former Waltham city councilor and immigrant rights organizer. This district includes suburbs north and west of Boston, including parts of Cambridge.
6th Congressional District: Six Democrats are vying for the seat vacated by Rep. Seth Moulton, who is running for Senate. They are software engineer Bethany Andres-Beck, 42, businessman John Beccia, 56, Topsfield Town Moderator Jamie Belsito, 52, former White House official Dan Koh, 41, former federal worker Mariah Lancaster, 36, and state Rep. Tram Nguyen, D-Andover, 40. This district encompasses the Northeast part of the state.
8th Congressional District: Incumbent Stephen Lynch, 71, vs. Patrick Roath, a 39-year-old lawyer and former aide to former Gov. Deval Patrick. This district includes parts of Boston, its suburbs and southeast Massachusetts.
9th Congressional District: Incumbent Bill Keating, 73, vs. Craig Swallow, a 40-year-old consultant. This district encompasses Cape Cod and the Islands and parts of the South Shore.
There are no contested Republican primaries for U.S. House.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Age dominates Democratic primaries in Massachusetts: Updates and results
