Democratic voters want generational change, but it comes with conditions

Democratic voters in Massachusetts highlighted the limits of a growing push for generational change on Tuesday, opting to keep longtime incumbents in office over significantly younger challengers amid mounting calls for new leadership.

A growing number of lawmakers are facing calls to step down or primary challenges by younger and often more progressive candidates as the Democratic Party continues its internal debate about how to move the party forward after 2024’s election losses.

Sen. Ed Markey, an 80-year-old progressive who has been in Congress for 50 years, convincingly beat a primary challenge from 47-year-old Rep. Seth Moulton, who centered his campaign on the need to elect a new generation of leaders.

Moulton, who also ran a short primary campaign against former President Joe Biden in 2024, sought to highlight Markey’s advanced age after the senator stumbled over a debate question about whether he uses artificial intelligence for his work.

It was the second straight cycle where Markey was able to fend off a much younger challenger with the backing of other progressive leaders despite mounting backlash against aging lawmakers who haven’t stepped down.

“Challenging the establishment and calling for a new generation of leadership isn’t easy. But it is necessary,” Moulton said in his concession speech. “We started conversations that needed to happen.”

Two other longtime congressional Democrats in Massachusetts also survived challenges from younger candidates on Tuesday. Rep. Stephen Lynch, a 71-year-old who has represented the state in the House since 2001, defeated 39-year-old lawyer Patrick Roath who argued it was time to end “wait-your-turn” politics. Rep. Richard Neal, a 77-year-old who has represented his district since 1989, beat teacher Jeromie Whalen.

The success of the incumbents shows general dissatisfaction with the age of Democratic leaders doesn’t always lead to votes for a younger alternative. In Markey’s case, his status as a longtime champion for progressive causes and support from the movement’s leaders helped fend off a challenge by a younger but more moderate opponent.

“There is a push, but it's conditional,” said Ray La Raja, a political science professor and co-director of the UMass Amherst poll. “Voters want young people conditional on that person being a progressive.”

Many of the candidates who have found success ousting longtime incumbents have been able to channel frustration over perceived failures by the Democratic establishment to stand up to Trump and Republican majorities in Congress and that new leaders are needed to overhaul the system. Several have also been more progressive than the incumbents they took on in primaries, which comes as the party’s left wing is seeing gains in primaries across the country.

Between the two parties, 11 House incumbents have lost primaries this year, one of the highest rates in nearly two decades and an oddity for a cycle that isn’t following nationwide redistricting. A handful of Republicans have also lost Senate primaries, though those contests broke down to differences with President Donald Trump rather than age concerns.

Older incumbents have lost primary races for their House seats in Colorado, New York, Michigan and Connecticut. Other longtime Democratic figures like former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois and Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York have stepped aside on their own and cited a need for generational change.

That pressure has intensified since the 2024 election, when concerns about Biden’s advanced age became a defining issue for Democrats and forced him to drop out of the race after a disastrous debate performance inflamed questions about his ability to continue serving.

Voters have consistently said they would support implementing age limits on members of Congress and the president, a position that cuts across partisan lines and age groups.

Incumbency typically creates a significant advantage in primary and general elections, giving lawmakers an advantage on name recognition and resources to take on challengers. But that advantage appears to be eroding some this year, with an atypically high level of successful primary ousters.

The shift against aging lawmakers also comes at a time when voters say they are increasingly looking for change in the country’s political system and how it is governed. More voters see both parties as working for special interests in a system they believe is rigged to boost the wealthy, while partisans are increasingly rewarding candidates they view as fighters willing to take on the opposition.

“We're in an age where combination of polarization and anger within the parties and just being friendly to your constituents and doing your work in Congress is not gonna satisfy a lot of voters,” La Raja said. “They really want fighters. They want people who are change agents.”

With this year’s primaries winding down, there are no more generational fights for Democrats being tested on the ballot this year. But the debate is certain to continue once the party shifts focus to the 2028 presidential election with no clear front-runner and another batch of seats up for grabs.