{"id":6275,"date":"2026-08-30T16:08:58","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T16:08:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=6275"},"modified":"2026-08-30T16:08:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T16:08:58","slug":"this-baby-boomer-vs-gen-x-senate-race-emerges-as-key-test-of-generational-change-in-u-s-politics-and-what-age-is-too-old-for-congress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=6275","title":{"rendered":"This baby boomer vs. Gen X Senate race emerges as key test of generational change in U.S. politics and what age is too old for Congress"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

When asked whether he uses AI platforms like Claude or ChatGPT in his work, Markey seemed unclear on the topic. He responded that he uses \u201cwhatever is inside of my iPhone or my iPad \u2014 whatever comes up\u201d and added that he doesn\u2019t know \u201cwhat companies my iPad may be using.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more The Strait of Hormuz crisis threatened Asia\u2019s oil and gas lifeline. Here\u2019s how the region is rewriting its energy playbook<\/a><\/p>\n

For Arsen Bagdassarian, an 18-year-old supporter of Markey\u2019s rival, 47-year-old U.S. Rep.\u00a0Seth Moulton, the answer reinforced a concern that has become central to Moulton\u2019s campaign to unseat the incumbent in Tuesday\u2019s party primary: that Markey, who would be 86 at the end of another term, is too old to represent a generation confronting problems that didn\u2019t exist when Markey entered Congress 50 years ago.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cTo be frank, I didn\u2019t expect him to be as clueless as he really was on that topic,\u201d said Bagdassarian, an incoming freshman at Boston\u2019s Northeastern University. Artificial intelligence is \u201ca major concern,\u201d he said, and the country needs leaders \u201cwho understand what they\u2019re being asked to regulate.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2026 midterms have brought a number of\u00a0generational challenges like the one Moulton is waging against Markey, with younger Democrats taking on \u2014 and in\u00a0some cases unseating\u00a0\u2014 longtime incumbents. There are signs that Democratic voters, especially, are\u00a0looking for change, and some young voters argue older politicians can\u2019t truly understand a world transformed by artificial intelligence, rising housing costs and student debt.<\/p>\n

But that hasn\u2019t been the case for all young people voting for the Senate nominee in a heavily Democratic state where the primary often decides who wins office. Markey has a strong following of young supporters, some of whom say that the internal party debate is more over policy than age. He\u2019s won the endorsement of the High School Democrats of America and the College Democrats of America, as well as the backing of popular progressives such as U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Among those younger supporters is Matt Kelly, president of the UMass Lowell College Democrats. Kelly doesn\u2019t dispute that Markey stumbled when asked about his use of AI, saying, \u201cI\u2019ll admit it wasn\u2019t a good answer.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Kelly said he cares less about whether Markey knows how to use the latest technology than whether he understands how to govern it. Moulton\u2019s relative youth, Kelly said, doesn\u2019t necessarily make his views more representative of young voters.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cJust because he has a younger face doesn\u2019t mean that he has younger ideas,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

For young Markey supporters, longevity can be an asset<\/h4>\n

Many of Markey\u2019s younger supporters turn Moulton\u2019s argument about the senator\u2019s 50-year political career on its head. To them, longevity provides a record they can judge \u2014 one that shows whether politicians held the same positions before they became popular with younger voters. One example is Markey\u2019s vote in 2002 against the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, which later led to the creation of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Milan van Dam, a 17-year-old who serves as national chair of the High School Democrats of America, said generational leadership is \u201cless about an age on a Wikipedia page\u201d than the ideas a candidate represents and their consistency through time.<\/p>\n

Abby Shadden, a 21-year-old Emmanuel College student, similarly pointed to Markey\u2019s co-authorship of the Green New Deal and his early support for Medicare for All.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThere is this idea that younger people are just automatically more progressive when, in this case, it is very much not true,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

For Kelly, the debate over AI is already playing out close to home. A\u00a0proposed data center\u00a0in Lowell, where he attends college, has generated opposition from some residents over its potential impact on the community. Kelly said Markey\u2019s push for greater regulation of data centers matters more to him than the senator\u2019s awkward answer about AI.<\/p>\n

Read more Olivia Rodrigo\u00a0and philanthropist Melinda French Gates raise $20 million for women\u2019s well-being with a benefit show recalling \u201990s feminist push<\/a><\/p>\n

Kelly said his generation will be graduating into an economy increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence while facing a cost of living that has made it harder to achieve the same financial security as previous generations.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cYes, Ed Markey\u2019s answer rhetorically didn\u2019t come off well, optically didn\u2019t look well,\u201d Kelly said. But when it comes to who will be good for \u201cthe group that\u2019s graduating into this new economy,\u201d he said, Markey\u2019s record matters more.<\/p>\n

Moulton says it\u2019s time for a new generation of Democratic leaders<\/h4>\n

Moulton seized on Markey\u2019s debate answer, telling him: \u201cSenator, if you don\u2019t even know what you\u2019re using on your phone or your iPad, like this is why we need a new generation of leaders to regulate these technologies.\u201d Moulton called Markey\u2019s loose grasp of the technology \u201cpotentially disqualifying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Markey pushed back, saying, \u201cIt doesn\u2019t make any difference whether it\u2019s called Siri or it\u2019s called Claude,\u201d and emphasizing that familiarity with individual AI products was less important than putting safeguards around the technology. He pointed to legislation he has introduced to regulate AI\u2019s effects on children, workers, civil rights, and the environment.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Moulton has emphasized Markey\u2019s age throughout the race, calling for \u201cgenerational change\u201d and age limits for members of Congress.<\/p>\n

For some of Moulton\u2019s young supporters, however, the argument is about more than the candidates\u2019 ages.<\/p>\n

Molly Blander, an 18-year-old incoming Tufts University freshman, pointed to artificial intelligence and social media as technologies that have reshaped life for her generation \u2014 including its mental health. She cited Moulton\u2019s work to establish 988 as the national suicide and crisis lifeline as an example of the kind of response she wants to see.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cSocial media has created a modern mental health problem, so we need modern solutions,\u201d Blander said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe world before AI is so different than it is now,\u201d Blander added. \u201cI think what was hard to see and hard to understand is that my senator does not understand one of the challenges that we\u2019ve been facing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Her generation\u2019s political world has also been shaped by Republican President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cIn my lifetime, I haven\u2019t seen the Democratic Party and the Democratic establishment really make things much better,\u201d she said, pointing to rising housing and energy costs and Trump\u2019s rise and reelection. \u201cAnd so I feel like the status quo and the establishment that we have now just isn\u2019t working.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Trump mistook it repeatedly\u00a0while speaking about his designs on Greenland, but voters in Iceland reject a proposal to restart talks to join the EU<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sen.\u00a0Ed Markey is 80, while his rival, Rep.\u00a0Seth Moulton, is 47.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6274,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[113],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-baby-boomers"],"yoast_head":"\nThis baby boomer vs. Gen X Senate race emerges as key test of generational change in U.S. politics and what age is too old for Congress - Cross Country Moving Team<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=6275\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"This baby boomer vs. Gen X Senate race emerges as key test of generational change in U.S. politics and what age is too old for Congress - Cross Country Moving Team\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sen.\u00a0Ed Markey is 80, while his rival, Rep.\u00a0Seth Moulton, is 47.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=6275\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cross Country Moving Team\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-30T16:08:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=6275#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=6275\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa\"},\"headline\":\"This baby boomer vs. Gen X Senate race emerges as key test of generational change in U.S. politics and what age is too old for Congress\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-30T16:08:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=6275\"},\"wordCount\":1171,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=6275#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/51864df48899387a396c9a813e8d2b06.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"baby boomers\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=6275#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=6275\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=6275\",\"name\":\"This baby boomer vs. Gen X Senate race emerges as key test of generational change in U.S. politics and what age is too old for Congress - Cross Country Moving Team\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=6275#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=6275#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/51864df48899387a396c9a813e8d2b06.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-30T16:08:58+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=6275#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=6275\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=6275#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/51864df48899387a396c9a813e8d2b06.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/51864df48899387a396c9a813e8d2b06.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=6275#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"This baby boomer vs. Gen X Senate race emerges as key test of generational change in U.S. politics and what age is too old for Congress\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Cross Country Moving Team\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"This baby boomer vs. Gen X Senate race emerges as key test of generational change in U.S. politics and what age is too old for Congress - Cross Country Moving Team","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=6275","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"This baby boomer vs. Gen X Senate race emerges as key test of generational change in U.S. politics and what age is too old for Congress - Cross Country Moving Team","og_description":"Sen.\u00a0Ed Markey is 80, while his rival, Rep.\u00a0Seth Moulton, is 47.","og_url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=6275","og_site_name":"Cross Country Moving Team","article_published_time":"2026-08-30T16:08:58+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=6275#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=6275"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa"},"headline":"This baby boomer vs. Gen X Senate race emerges as key test of generational change in U.S. politics and what age is too old for Congress","datePublished":"2026-08-30T16:08:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=6275"},"wordCount":1171,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=6275#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/51864df48899387a396c9a813e8d2b06.webp","articleSection":["baby boomers"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=6275#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=6275","url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=6275","name":"This baby boomer vs. Gen X Senate race emerges as key test of generational change in U.S. politics and what age is too old for Congress - Cross Country Moving Team","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=6275#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=6275#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/51864df48899387a396c9a813e8d2b06.webp","datePublished":"2026-08-30T16:08:58+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=6275#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=6275"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=6275#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/51864df48899387a396c9a813e8d2b06.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/51864df48899387a396c9a813e8d2b06.webp","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=6275#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"This baby boomer vs. Gen X Senate race emerges as key test of generational change in U.S. politics and what age is too old for Congress"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/","name":"Cross Country Moving Team","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com"],"url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6275\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}