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It's primary day in Massachusetts, and voters there are deciding whether Democratic Senator Ed Markey, who's 80 years old and has been in Congress for 50 years, should get another term. He's being challenged by Congressman Seth Moulton, who's 47 and who says it is time for a new generation of leadership. Anthony Brooks of member station WBUR in Boston reports.
ANTHONY BROOKS, BYLINE: Late last week, Senator Ed Markey greeted a lunchtime crowd at the Muffin House Cafe in Westwood outside of Boston. He was dressed in a blue suit, no tie and his signature high-top Nikes, sending the message that even at 80 years old, this son of a milkman from Malden, Mass., is still running hard.
ED MARKEY: This is the most energized I've ever been. My father drove a truck for the Hood milk company. Donald Trump brings out the Malden in me every day, and I fight him every day.
BROOKS: Markey exchanges high fives and poses for selfies with just about everyone, including small children who have no idea who he is. But plenty of people do, including Hania Khuri-Trapper (ph) and her husband Chris Trapper (ph) of Westwood, who say they value Markey's long experience.
HANIA KHURI-TRAPPER: I really feel like he is the most qualified, but also he's the most authentic and he stands by what he says.
CHRIS TRAPPER: He's always been a leader and progressive, but before it was kind of cool, he was doing it. So just a fan of his for a long time.
BROOKS: While Democrats in several states debate whether to embrace progressives or moderates, the question is more or less settled in this race because both candidates call themselves progressives. Markey has spent decades burnishing his reputation as a progressive leader while Moulton pushes for generational change.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: How's everything going with you? How's the campaign going? Good?
SETH MOULTON: It's going great.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Yeah?
MOULTON: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Awesome.
MOULTON: I mean, the energy on the ground is amazing.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Yeah. I'm pulling for you.
MOULTON: Well, thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: All the way (ph), yeah, yeah.
MOULTON: Thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Yeah.
BROOKS: Few days ago, Moulton, a former Marine, toured a nonprofit that provides housing and family assistance to veterans. This is one of several races across the country in the Democratic Party being fought across generational lines. Markey has been in Congress since before 47-year-old Moulton was even born. So Moulton says it's time for change.
MOULTON: It's a question of whether one person should hang onto a seat in Congress for 50 years while the world passes him by. It's time for a new generation of leadership because we have a new generation of challenges and also opportunities.
BROOKS: Moulton and Markey mostly agree on policy, but Moulton has staked his career on challenging the old guard. He won his first race for Congress 12 years ago by defeating a Democratic veteran. He challenged the leadership of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Now he's running against the establishment again, arguing that Markey and people like Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer have clung to power for too long.
MOULTON: Senator Markey has been part of the Democratic establishment for a long time. That's why he's joined at the hip with Senator Schumer. I'm someone who's willing to challenge that status quo, and that's exactly what I'm doing in this campaign.
BROOKS: John Cronin, a state senator from central Mass. who joined Moulton on the tour of the veterans facility, says he's backing him.
JOHN CRONIN: The past 10 years, the Democratic Party has been ineffective at fighting against Donald Trump. You know, our playbook is not working. I think Seth Moulton is part of a new generation of leadership who is going to put Massachusetts and the country 10 years from now in a much better place.
BROOKS: Back at the Muffin House Cafe outside of Boston, Markey argues that he's the true progressive. He cosponsored the Green New Deal, backs Medicare for All and higher taxes on millionaires and billionaires. And he's won endorsements from progressive leaders, including Senator Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts' other senator, Elizabeth Warren.
MARKEY: I'm always the youngest guy in the room when it comes to new ideas, fighting for the future. And they are backing me in this election because they know that I have had their back on every single tough fight on the floor of the United States Senate.
BROOKS: Polls suggest Markey has a substantial lead in this race, that lots of Democrats like his progressive record and are willing to overlook his age. But primary polling is often inaccurate, so Moulton is hoping his argument for generational change delivers an upset. For NPR News, I'm Anthony Brooks in Boston.
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