Keller: What hurdles does Seth Moulton face in a possible primary against Ed Markey?
The opinions expressed below are Jon Keller's, not those of WBZ-TV, CBS News or Paramount, a Skydance Corporation.
Could it be a Rep. Seth Moulton versus Sen. Ed Markey battle in next year's Democratic U.S. Senate primary in Massachusetts?
The Salem congressman is seriously considering running against the incumbent, he confirmed Wednesday.
The 79-year-old Markey has been in public office for 52 years, 49 of them in Congress. And with 80-something politicians increasingly out of vogue in the Democratic party these days it's no surprise that the 46-year-old Moulton hears opportunity knocking, saying in a statement to WBZ-TV and other news outlets that, "While I continue to look at the best options to represent Massachusetts moving forward, I have not yet made a decision about running for U.S. Senate."
Calls for generational change
Generational change is a theme Moulton's been stressing for years, through a failed challenge to then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi and an unsuccessful run for president.
But can it work against Markey, who squashed the much-younger Joe Kennedy's primary challenge five years ago?
"The makeup of the electorate is gonna be left of center, clearly," said veteran Suffolk University pollster Dave Paleologos. He thinks the more-centrist Moulton may struggle to compete in a narrow primary universe where Markey beat Kennedy big-time in liberal strongholds like Boston and Cambridge.
Sen. Markey brushes off age questions
And as for the age issue: "Democrats have been more tolerant of older candidates through the years going back to Ted Kennedy in Massachusetts," noted Paleologos. "They age along with their public officials."
But the age difference does resonate with Moulton supporter Colette Phillips, a communications professional and community activist who is not affiliated with Moulton's campaign.
"This is really about status quo vs. change," she said. "By the time of [Markey's] next term he will be 86. We need younger people in our Congress."
But with no visible signs of slowdown, Markey is ready to rebut that. "I represent experience and change at the same time," he has said in the past.
Moulton might hope to score with younger voters, but Markey did well with them in the race against Kennedy, and all campaigns will likely struggle to turn them out what with next year's primary set for September first, well before Labor Day.
And Moulton, a decorated former Marine, will need independents to skip the contested GOP primary for governor, which features another former Marine candidate, Brian Shortsleeve.
It'll likely be an uphill battle at best, but since when did that stop a Marine?
