Massachusetts Democrats head to the polls Tuesday in a Senate primary that has turned into a referendum on age, tenure and technological literacy inside the party.
Sen. Ed Markey, 80, faces U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, 47, who has made Markey's decades in Congress — and whether he would be 86 at the end of another term — central to his campaign. Markey has served in Congress for 50 years.
At a recent debate, when asked whether he uses AI platforms like Claude or ChatGPT, Markey said he uses "whatever is inside of my iPhone or my iPad — whatever comes up," adding he doesn't know "what companies my iPad may be using."
Arsen Bagdassarian, an 18-year-old Moulton supporter and incoming Northeastern University freshman, said the answer confirmed his concern that Markey is "clueless" on AI and that the country needs leaders "who understand what they're being asked to regulate."
But Markey retains significant youth support. He has been endorsed by the High School Democrats of America, the College Democrats of America, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Matt Kelly, president of the UMass Lowell College Democrats, conceded Markey's AI answer "wasn't a good answer" but said he cares more about whether Markey "understands how to govern" technology than whether he personally uses it. Kelly pointed to Markey's push for greater regulation of data centers — an issue playing out over a proposed data center in Lowell that has drawn local opposition — as more relevant to him than the senator's stumble.
Other young Markey supporters, including Milan van Dam, 17, national chair of the High School Democrats of America, and Abby Shadden, 21, a student at Emmanuel College, argued that longevity gives voters a record to judge, citing Markey's 2002 vote against creating the Department of Homeland Security, his co-authorship of the Green New Deal, and his early support for Medicare for All.
The race is one of several generational challenges to longtime Democratic incumbents in the 2026 midterms, reflecting what the Associated Press describes as a broader appetite among Democratic voters for change.
Strip away the generational framing and the substance of this primary is telling. The fight isn't really old versus young — it's whether Massachusetts sends back to Washington a senator who, by his own supporters' admission, wants more authority to regulate data centers and artificial intelligence, the very industries generating capital and jobs in the new economy.
Markey's youthful backers aren't rejecting the administrative-state instincts that have defined his 50-year career; they're endorsing them, citing the Green New Deal and Medicare for All as features, not bugs. Moulton's bet is that voters want competence over incumbency. Markey's bet, backed by AOC and Mamdani, is that the party's progressive base wants more of the same regulatory reflex, delivered by whoever holds the microphone.
Either way, the data centers going up around Lowell — and the businesses deciding whether to build them — are watching to see which instinct wins Tuesday.
