Rep. Ayanna Pressley is taking a pass on the Senate spotlight and sticking to her safe turf in Massachusetts.
The Boston Democrat, a card-carrying member of the progressive “squad,” said Tuesday she won’t challenge Sen. Ed Markey for his seat and will instead seek another term in the 7th Congressional District.
“Hearing from so many people from throughout our Commonwealth encouraging me to run for the United States Senate was deeply humbling and a testament to the strength of our movement,” Pressley said.
She added that “it would be an honor to serve the whole Commonwealth” but pointed to family and politics for her decision. “With our daughter in her last year at home before college and a district that has been in the crosshairs of this White House, I am certain that the Massachusetts 7th is where I belong in this moment.”
Pressley told The Boston Globe she’s steering clear of a Senate bid for now, though she hinted the door isn’t locked forever, saying “I’m not closing the door to a Senate run down the line.”
Her decision snuffs out weeks of chatter that she might jump into the primary against Markey, a move that would have sparked a messy showdown inside the left flank. For now, Rep. Seth Moulton remains Markey’s loudest challenger.
Pressley said she’s staying put to finish unfinished business in the House and to be present during her daughter’s senior year. “I do want to be able to sit around the dinner table and be there for my daughter’s dance performances when I can. These are just moments I’m not going to be able to get back,” she told the Globe.
Moulton, 47, wasted no time drawing a generational line in the sand against the 79-year-old incumbent. “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 in his launch ad. “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.”
The age argument has become a rallying cry for younger Democrats fed up with an aging class of incumbents, they say, who can’t keep pace with the Trump administration or shifting political terrain. Some seniors have quietly slipped out the door; others, like Markey, are digging in.
Markey has faced this movie before. In 2020, he swatted down a heavily hyped primary challenge from Joe Kennedy III, even as the heir-apparent enjoyed the backing of Rep. Nancy Pelosi.
