This 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

A Massachusetts Senate primary has turned into a very modern age test. Ed Markey, 80, is being pressed on whether he is too old for another term, and the flashpoint came when he seemed unsure about AI tools during a debate. Asked whether he uses Claude or ChatGPT in his work, he said he uses whatever is on his iPhone or iPad and said he didn’t know what companies his device may be using.

That answer gave Seth Moulton’s camp exactly the opening it wanted. Moulton, 47, has built his challenge around the idea that the Democratic Party needs a new generation of leaders to deal with problems that didn’t exist when Markey first entered Congress 50 years ago. Markey would be 86 at the end of another term, and Moulton has called his grasp of the technology potentially disqualifying. He’s also used the race to argue for age limits in Congress.

But the line between age and politics is not drawing cleanly. Markey still has younger supporters who care less about the slip than about what he would actually do with AI and other new technologies. He has won endorsements from the High School Democrats of America and the College Democrats of America, along with backing from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Zohran Mamdani. For those supporters, the bigger question is whether a politician knows how to govern a technology, not whether he can name the app.

They also see Markey’s long record as part of the appeal. Supporters point to his 2002 vote against creating the Department of Homeland Security, his co-authorship of the Green New Deal, and his early support for Medicare for All as evidence of consistency. On the other side, Moulton’s younger backers say the world has changed fast, with AI, social media, housing costs and student debt all reshaping life for people their age. For them, the race is not just about a birth year. It’s about whether the party’s old guard can still answer for the economy and technology their voters are inheriting.