D.C. Memo: Sen. Ed Markey, Invincible at the Polls Since 1976, Has to Reckon with a New Foe – Ageism
Boston Herald Conservative Columnist Joe Battenfeld Accused Markey's Primary Opponent of Naked 'Age Discrimination.'
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Politics: Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) has flattened every foe at the polls since 1976. But this election cycle, the question is, Can he defeat ageism? Markey, 79, is running for a new six-year term but his primary opponent is saying he’s too old to represent The Bay State on Capitol Hill. “We’re in a crisis, and with everything we learned last election, I just don’t believe Sen. Markey should be running for another six-year term at 80 years old,“ Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) said in his campaign announcement video yesterday. “Even more, I don’t think someone who’s been in Congress for half a century is the right person to meet this moment and win the future.” Markey, who turns 80 on July 11, is well-known figure in communications circles for his signature provisions in the 1992 Cable Act (must carry, retransmission consent, program access) and the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (E-rate, v-chip, digital TV transition, local phone competition.) Moulton, 46, a former Marine who won a Bronze Star serving in Iraq and later turned against the war, was elected to the House in 2014 to represent the state’s 6th District, which includes many of Boston’s northern suburbs. Against Markey, Moulton is leaning into the age issue after the vast majority of Americans polled in 2024 expressed moderate or major doubts about President Biden’s physical and mental ability to remain in office. Biden is currently undergoing radiation treatment for aggressive prostate cancer. (More after paywall.)
