Joe Kennedy III thought Eddie Markey was too previous, too.
And have a look at what occurred to him.
Markey, the veteran Massachusetts U.S. senator cleaned Kennedy’s clock, as previous timers used to say, within the 2020 Democrat major for the U.S. Senate.
Markey beat Kennedy in that major by 782,694 votes (53.3%) to 629,359 votes (44.51%) for Kennedy.
It was the primary and solely time a Kennedy misplaced an election in Massachusetts.
Kennedy, a three-term congressman from Newton, was 42 on the time. Markey was 74.
Now Rep. Seth Moulton, 46, of Salem, a six-term Democrat member of the Home, is making an attempt to do what Kennedy couldn’t do to the now-79 12 months previous Markey.
And that’s to finish Markey’s fifty 12 months political profession, one which started earlier than Moulton was even born.
It isn’t that Moulton believes Markey has been ineffective, or that he, a fellow progressive, disagrees with Markey on any of the problems. No. Politically talking, they’re like father and son.
It’s simply that, in Moulton’s view, Markey is simply too previous. Markey could be eighty years previous if re-elected and eighty-six on the finish of his third time period in 2026.
Nonetheless, Markey has been endorsed over Moulton by seven of Moulton’s 9 fellow Massachusetts members of the U.S. Home, together with Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
It needs to be famous that Kennedy, in his loss to Markey by no means actually made Markey’s age and situation. It was simply implied.
Not so for Moulton, who seems able to make Markey’s age a foremost motive for his candidacy, one thing he raised each in his video announcement and in subsequent feedback.
“Is he too previous?” Markey requested in a single interview. “Look, each political advisor will inform me to not say this, however the trustworthy fact is, sure.”
This will come as information to observe progressive Democrat Janet Mills, 77, the two-term governor of Maine, who’s working for the Democrat nomination for the U.S. Senate.
Or to President Donald Trump, 79. who has a schedule vastly busier and extra energetic than Moulton — a schedule like no person’s ever seen earlier than, as Trump would say.
However Moulton is in search of to determine “a brand new era of management.”
That was additionally his mantra when in 2018 when he sought to oust Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi from her management position. Pelosi was 78 years previous on the time. At 85, she’s nonetheless round
Moulton used that meme once more in 2019 when he ran for president in a marketing campaign that went nowhere, simply as his Pelosi problem did.
Nonetheless, Moulton is a gorgeous candidate with relative youth, a successful household and a adorned Marine officer with fight expertise in Iraq He’s anticipated to make a lot of that in his Senate marketing campaign in distinction to Markey.
He makes use of all three in his well-done announcement video, which begins and ends with unhappy fight loss of life of a 19-year previous Marine in Iraq.
All through the video are pictures of his charming two younger daughters working round a cheerful family.
Markey is married to Dr. Susan Blumenthal, a girl’s well being advocate. They don’t have any kids.
Moulton served 4 excursions of obligation in Iraq between 2003 and 2008.
Markey throughout his navy eligible years, was capable of keep away from the Vietnam Conflict period draft by becoming a member of the U S. Military Reserves. He was by no means deployed.
The Senate is his life.
Veteran political reporter Peter Lucas may be reached at: peter.lucas@bostonherald.com.
