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The two Democrats vying for Massachusetts’s Senate seat wrestled to position themselves as the challenger in this race during a Wednesday debate, amid a growing appetite from voters across the country for anti-establishment candidates.
Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton launched his challenge for Sen. Ed Markey’s seat last fall. The 47-years-old congressman is calling for generational change in his campaign against the 79-year-old incumbent.
In the first Democratic debate on Wednesday, Markey pushed back against accusations that his age and time in Congress had eroded his ability to affect meaningful change in the legislature.
“This is the most energized I’ve ever been,” he said. “Fighting Donald Trump every single day, fighting his agenda to undermine families all across our country, and I lead that fight on the Senate floor.”
Moulton clarified that this criticism was not solely based on Markey’s age, emphasizing a need for a “fighter” in this Senate seat.
“This is not about being critical of age, it’s about the fact that we need new ideas, a new playbook, because a 50-year-old playbook is just not delivering for our country, for Massachusetts,” he said. “We’ve got a second term of Donald Trump, and we need new plans, we need new leadership.”
Additionally, when pressed by Dave Madsen of Western Mass News about how he was not also a part of the Democratic establishment despite serving in Congress for over 10 years, Moulton cited his commitment to not support Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) if elected.
“I’ve consistently fought against the establishment, even when it means standing up to my own party,” Moulton said.
Markey responded to Madsen’s question by seeking to differentiate experience from responsibility for stagnant politics.
“Experience is not the opposite of change,” he said. “Experience is what you use in order to create change. That is what I have done.”
Additionally, during a discussion about the rise in democratic socialist candidates across the country, Markey expressed his support for these new challenges to Democratic leadership.
“It’s not your age; it’s the age of your ideas that’s important,” he said. “And in this race, I’m the youngest guy.”
The two candidates will face off in the state’s Democratic primary this September.
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