Morning Digest: Centrist congressman launches primary challenge against prominent liberal senator

Seth Moulton says Ed Markey is "too old" to run again, but will primary voters prioritize generational change over ideology?

Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton (D), at left (credit: Seth Moulton Facebook)

Leading Off

MA-Sen

Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton kicked off a primary challenge to Sen. Ed Markey on Wednesday, explicitly painting the long-time incumbent as “too old” in comments to the Washington Post.

Markey, 79, has served in Congress since winning a House seat in 1976, though it wasn’t until 2013 that he earned a promotion to the upper chamber in a special election to replace John Kerry, who resigned to become Barack Obama’s secretary of state.

During his long career, Markey has established himself as an outspoken liberal and has focused heavily on combating climate change. While he’s seldom faced difficult reelection campaigns, he turned back another primary challenger five years ago when he defeated Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy by a 55-45 margin.

Like Moulton, who is 46, the much younger Kennedy (at the time 39) presented himself as an agent of generational change. But despite his famous name, Kennedy struggled to match Markey’s liberal bona fides and his support from figures like New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and a host of the best-known progressive organizations.

It’s a problem the centrist Moulton will face as well. Moulton, a Marine veteran, first won Massachusetts’ 6th Congressional District by knocking off a tarnished Democratic incumbent, John Tierney. His subsequent attempts to take on much bigger targets, however, have fallen well short.

After Democrats regained the House in 2018, Moulton led an ill-fated plot to stop Nancy Pelosi from once again becoming speaker. After that gambit failed (Moulton even wound up voting for Pelosi to reclaim her old job), he then sought to run for president. After a desultory few months in which he didn’t qualify for any debates, he abandoned ship.

In announcing his latest bid, Moulton leaned heavily into the age gap between the two candidates in his launch video.

“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,” he said. “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 will turn 80 next year.)

But Moulton’s more moderate record may not appeal to primary voters. In particular, he generated a firestorm of criticism from fellow Democrats shortly after last year’s presidential election when he expressed his opposition to allowing transgender kids to play in girls’ sports—and hostility toward his party for allegedly suppressing such views.

“Democrats spend way too much time trying not to offend anyone rather than being brutally honest about the challenges many Americans face,” he told the New York Times. “I have two little girls, I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat I’m supposed to be afraid to say that.”

Despite the hostile response, which included the resignation of a top aide, Moulton remained defiant, declaring, “The backlash proves my point.” He also dared his critics to challenge him at the ballot box, saying, “Good luck, I mean, run against me if you want.”

Now, before a much larger electorate, those critics will get the chance to unite against him.

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The Downballot Podcast

How Dems are fighting back—state by state

Looking to see more “fightback” from Democrats? It’s happening all the time—at the state level. Joining us on this week’s episode of The Downballot podcast is Gaby Goldstein, the founder of State Futures, a new organization devoted to organizing Democratic state lawmakers. Gaby explains how her group fills a major infrastructure gap by helping Democrats share their best ideas for legislation, including new laws to protect labor rights and voting rights, all aimed at fighting back—vigorously—against Donald Trump.

Co-hosts David Nir and David Beard also check in on two New England Senate primaries that experienced major shakeups this week. In Maine, establishment favorite Janet Mills has acknowledged concerns about her age as she seeks to take on Susan Collins, but the Democratic primary offers a perfect “shakedown cruise” before the ultimate battle. And in Massachusetts, Seth Moulton just issued a generational challenge to Sen. Ed Markey, but the incumbent’s liberal bona fides will be hard to match.

Senate

KS-Sen

Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids has confirmed she might run statewide if Republicans further gerrymander her district, a possibility she previously hinted at.

“At this point, all I can say is that every option is on the table, including a statewide run,” Davids told reporters during a virtual press conference on Wednesday.

Last month, in a press release blasting the GOP’s redistricting plans, Davids’ campaign included an excerpt of a Punchbowl article noting that she “could choose to challenge” Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, who’s up for reelection next year. Kansas will also host contests for other statewide offices, such as governor, attorney general, and secretary of state.

Davids would start off any race with a sizable cash stockpile. The congressman said this week that she raised $678,000 in the third quarter of the year and had $1 million banked. According to Ballotpedia, Kansas does not permit federal candidates to directly transfer money to state campaign accounts, but politicians can issue refunds to donors and ask them to give again, or redirect their war chests to an allied super PAC.

KY-Sen

Rep. Andy Barr has released a new poll of Kentucky’s GOP Senate primary that closely mirrors a survey that the frontrunner, former state Attorney General Daniel Cameron, recently publicized, but the two candidates had very different takeaways.

Barr’s poll, conducted by UpONE Insights, finds Cameron leading 42-25, with businessman Nate Morris at 10. The margins were almost identical in Cameron’s poll from co/efficient, which put Cameron up 39-22 and Morris at 8.

While the numbers are very similar, the two campaigns are making different arguments about what they mean.

Cameron’s pollster said in a press release that his data shows his client “has built a formidable, durable lead,” despite getting it with attack ads (mostly from Morris). A memo from Barr’s firm, by contrast, vituperatively attacked Morris and asserted that the numbers reveal “a two-man race” between Barr and Cameron in the contest to replace retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell.

ME-Sen

Oyster farmer Graham Platner has launched his first TV ad as he seeks Maine’s Democratic nomination for the Senate, and he immediately tweaks after the newest candidate in the primary, Gov. Janet Mills.

The spot, which was first shared by Axios, is a largely positive one, introducing Platner to voters as a veteran of both the Marines and the Army. However, it begins with an older woman (who bears a resemblance to the governor) saying, “Janet Mills again? She was a good governor, but I think it’s time for change.” Other women seated around the same table then share positive comments about Platner.

It’s not clear how much money Platner is putting behind the run, though. AdImpact said on Tuesday, “So far, we’ve seen a $40k sports buy placed for Sunday,” but such figures can always grow.

NH-Sen

Former Republican Sen. John Sununu tells NOTUS’ Reese Gorman that he plans to decide on a comeback bid “by the end of the month,” with Punchbowl adding that it’s “widely expected” he’ll run.

A new poll from the GOP firm co/efficient also finds Sununu faring better against the likely Democratic nominee for New Hampshire’s open Senate seat, Rep. Chris Pappas, than his would-be primary rival, former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown. The pollster, which says its survey was “ [n]ot sponsored by any candidate or committee,” gives Pappas a 45-42 edge on Sununu but a wider 49-39 lead on Brown.

Governors

GA-Gov

Jason Carter, a grandson of Jimmy Carter, has endorsed former state Sen. Jason Esteves’ bid for Georgia’s open governorship next year. Carter, who is also a state senator, ran for governor himself in 2014 but lost to Republican Nathan Deal by a 53-45 margin. He had expressed interest in another bid earlier this year but opted out following his wife’s brain cancer diagnosis.

Esteves is one of several notable candidates vying for the Democratic nomination, while Republicans also have a contested primary in the race to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Brian Kemp.

NJ-Gov

Quinnipiac: Mikie Sherrill (D): 50, Jack Ciattarelli (R): 44 (mid-Sept.: 49-41 Sherrill).

VT-Gov

Democratic state Treasurer Mike Pieciak is “widely rumored to be mulling a run” for governor of Vermont next year, reports VTDigger’s Shaun Robinson, and he isn’t ruling out the idea.

Pieciak, says Robinson, “declined to say Tuesday whether he would seek the treasurer’s job, or a different office, in 2026.”

“Right now, that’s my focus—on the treasurer’s office and the work that we’re doing as an elected leader to stand up against this administration,” Pieciak said, referencing Donald Trump.

Over the summer, Pieciack’s team issued a similarly noncommittal statement. However, as Robinson notes—in fact, it’s the thrust of his piece—the treasurer just brought on a top political aide who had worked for Democratic Rep. Becca Balint. While Pieciak insisted the move was unrelated to his electoral plans, Robinson points out that it’s his third recent hire with links to Balint.

One other prominent Democrat, state Attorney General Charity Clark, has also hinted at a bid. Potential candidates, though, are likely waiting to see whether Republican Gov. Phil Scott will seek a sixth two-year term. Scott has typically waited until the end of the legislative session in even-numbered years to decide, which means we might not find out until May.

House

IL-07

Gun safety activist Kina Collins, who unsuccessfully challenged Rep. Danny Davis in each of the last three election cycles, is back for a fourth try now that Davis is retiring.

Collins’ best showing came in 2022, when she nearly shocked the longtime incumbent by unexpectedly holding him to a 52-46 win in the Democratic primary for Illinois’ safely blue 7th District. That performance, however, was bookended by blowout defeats in both 2020 and 2024.

This time around, Collins faces an extremely crowded field that features at least 10 notable candidates.

NH-01

Real estate developer Anthony DiLorenzo, who’d been eyeing a bid for Congress, entered the GOP primary for New Hampshire’s competitive 1st District on Wednesday.

DiLoreno’s entry had been anticipated since late last month, when businessman Chris Bright dropped out of the race and said he planned to support a new candidate with a “significantly more robust network.” Bright didn’t name that candidate, but later reporting indicated it would be DiLorenzo, a wealthy major donor to Republican causes.

It’s not clear, though, how much of his own money he might put behind his new campaign.

“I am going to put some money in, but I don’t believe in buying the race, but I’m also not going to go ask all my network of people to contribute money and me not doing so as well,” he told WMUR. The outlet noted, though, that an unnamed “source close to the campaign” said DiLorenzo was prepared to self-fund a “substantial figure.”

Three other noteworthy Republicans are running, while Democrats also have a busy primary in the race to succeed Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, who is running for Senate.

TN-05

Former state Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher launched a bid against Republican Rep. Andy Ogles on Wednesday, ensuring that the scandal-tarred congressman will face a high-profile primary challenge for the second cycle in a row.

Hatcher, a livestock veterinarian and dairy farmer, served in Gov. Bill Lee’s cabinet from the start of his first term in 2019 until stepping down last month. In a launch video, he stressed his affinity for Donald Trump, saying that “Trump would have been a fantastic farmer.”

However, he doesn’t seem to have expressed much of a beef with Ogles, beyond saying on his website, “Think what President Trump could do if our congressman spent less time talking and more time doing.”

The congressman, though, will provide no shortage of fodder. Among other things:

• Ogles remains under criminal investigation by the FBI over alleged campaign finance improprieties.

• He’s also being investigated by the House Ethics Committee, again regarding campaign finance.

• He said he loaned $320,000 to his first House campaign despite not having the wealth to do so, then amended that down to $20,000.

• He apparently fabricated much of his life story, including claims that he’s been a police officer, an economist, and an “expert in international sex crimes.”

• And he once raised almost $25,000 for a children’s burial garden that was never built—and never accounted for the funds.

Despite all of this, Ogles turned back Nashville Metro Councilor Courtney Johnston in the GOP primary by a 57-43 margin last year, though the news about the investigations only broke after that race. He then easily won reelection last fall in Tennessee’s 5th District, a once Democratic district that Republicans heavily gerrymandered following the last census.

Still, Democrats think they might have an opening, particularly because the district retains a piece of Nashville. Two notable candidates have stepped forward, Nashville Metro Councilor Mike Cortese and Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder, the latter of whom raised an eye-popping $789,000 during his first month in the race.

TX-08

Republican Rep. Morgan Lutrell, who recently announced he’d retire after just two terms in Congress, has endorsed attorney Jessica Hart Steinmann in the race to succeed him in Texas’ 8th District.

TX-10

Kara King, the mayor of the small city of Bee Cave, has joined the GOP primary for Texas’ conservative 10th District, which is open due to Rep. Michael McCaul’s retirement.

Attorneys General & Secretaries of State

MI-AG, MI-SoS

Michigan Democrats have announced that they will hold what’s known locally as an endorsement convention on April 19 to pick nominees for next year’s races for attorney general and secretary of state.

Traditionally, nominees for these posts have been chosen at party conventions in August. In 2018, however, seeking to give their candidates more time to campaign for the general election, Democrats began holding earlier gatherings as well. Republicans followed suit in 2022 and will convene an endorsement convention of their own on March 28.

Nominations for most other offices, including for governor and Congress, will be decided by traditional party primaries in August.