Mass. Rep. Jake Auchincloss will not challenge US Sen. Markey
Months of speculation over whether U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss would challenge incumbent Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., for his seat next year have been answered.
Auchincloss, 37, will seek reelection to the House of Representatives, avoiding a primary contest with the 79-year-old Markey, he told the Boston Globe on Tuesday.
Auchincloss, D-4th District, said he wants to focus his time on running Majority Democrats , the coalition of young Democratic elected officials he co-founded this summer in a bid to reshape the party's image and platform.
"I am not going to challenge Ed," Auchincloss told the Globe. "After November, I spent six months digging into how I could best help — the country is in crisis, the party is in the doldrums. Ultimately, I decided I could have maximum impact as chair of Majority Democrats, rather than an expensive primary campaign."
Heading off a challenge, Markey had lined up key endorsements from other members of the state's congressional delegation, including U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Democratic U.S. Reps. Katherine Clark, Richard Neal and Jim McGovern.
First elected to Congress in 1976, Markey is seeking his third term in the U.S. Senate. He will be 80 years old on Election Day and, if elected, 86 by the time that term ends.
Markey is the oldest Democratic senator seeking reelection . His campaign comes as some in the party have urged a new generation of leadership, particularly after former President Joe Biden dropped out of last year's presidential race amid questions about his age and capacity for another term.
Markey has already beaten a generational test in the form of a primary challenge from Rep. Joe Kennedy III in 2020. He won by double digits.
"I'm ready for the fight. I've never been more energized and I'm ready to stand for re-election and that is my full intention," Markey said last October on WCVB-TV's "On the Record."
Auchincloss declined to endorse Markey's reelection bid in his interview with the Globe. If the senator were to abandon his campaign for any reason, Auchincloss said he would weigh a run.
He also avoided questions from the paper on whether Markey should be seeking another term.
"I'm not running against him, so I'm not going to cast stones against him," Auchincloss said. "It's not how I can be most productive. Where I can be most productive is not in prosecuting a case against someone — it is in making the case for what we as a party are for."
"That's the decision I made when I decided not to do the Senate," he added. "I can be more impactful on building out the ideas as a platform for the party than I can engage in a campaign on personalities."
Auchincloss's Majority Democrats says its members represent the "next generation" of party leadership — officials who have been willing to challenge their side's establishment and shown an ability to win tough races or outperform the party as a whole.
The organization aims to reshape Democrats' priorities to focus on the issues most central to the public, and grow the party into a competitive force that can compete "everywhere" and deliver results for voters.
Being the anti-Trump party "might win a midterm election," U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, of Minnesota, another leader in the group, told the New York Times in July. "But it's not going to build lasting majorities. We've got to lay out the case for what we're for as a party."
The group's ranks also include U.S. Sens. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Michael Bennet of Colorado; former U.S. Rep. and Democratic nominee for governor of Virginia Abigail Spanberger; and Reps. Jared Golden of Maine, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, Sarah McBride of Delaware, Pat Ryan of New York, Ritchie Torres of New York, and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, among about two dozen other officials.
Auchincloss represents a geographically diverse district, sweeping from his home city of Newton, Brookline and other wealthy Boston suburbs down to Fall River, Taunton and other less affluent communities in southeastern Massachusetts.
He was elected there in 2020 as Kennedy, the incumbent, challenged Markey. In a nine-person Democratic primary, Auchincloss squeaked by with 22.4% of the vote to his runner-up's 21.1%. He won that general election handily and has not since faced a challenger.
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