After challengers suffer primary losses, where's the next generation of political leaders in Mass.?

This is Up Next. I'm Tiziana Deering. Not a winning message in this week's primaries, though. Ed Markey, Richard Neal, Stephen Lynch were among a slew of veteran Massachusetts lawmakers who dispatched younger challengers this week, despite a national narrative that Democratic voters wanted new blood. Joining us live to help us make sense of what happened, Boston Globe political reporter James Pindle and Democratic strategist Susan Tracy. Good morning to both of you. Morning, Tiziana. Morning, James. So, James, that Malcolm in the Middle clip does raise a question coming out of the primaries, but I do just want to go back to, say, Monday. Going into the primaries this week, what was the biggest question about Massachusetts politics for you? For me, it was looking at the Stephen Lynch race. Stephen Lynch has been in Congress for 25 years. Of course, he's a longtime South Boston politician. The district is about, for Democratic primary voters, is about 50 percent in the various wards in Boston, and then it goes south down to Brockton. And for me, nationwide, you saw from New York state to Colorado to, more closely here to Hartford, Connecticut, where you had a much younger, much more progressive, well-funded challenger to a long-term, you know, older and more moderate incumbent, and those upstarts, the younger person, would win. And I thought this was a more closely aligned race than it was, say, the Senate race or anything else. And it did prove to be that Stephen Lynch did beat Patrick Roth, Susan, still. This is about incumbency, it feels like, here in Massachusetts. How hard is it to beat an incumbent in a congressional race here? Well, obviously, it's very hard to do. And look, we have a strong delegation in Massachusetts, so it's not surprising that, you know, an existing incumbent in Massachusetts, as potentially we're about to take control of the House again, you know, that's a tough person to beat. The nature of the district plays a role in it. I think you also have to look at that September 1st date for the primary. So I think there are a lot of factors there. But ultimately, you know, the voters decided that they like Stephen Lynch, and they probably liked where he was going to be come November, you know, post-November. Stay with the date for just a second, Susan. I haven't really heard anybody talking about that this week. What about September 1st? Well, I think that was a question mark, right? That's a really early primary. A lot of people are still on vacation. A lot of kids haven't come back to go to school. If you're depending on younger voters, this really struck me. You know, what's September 1st for a young person? It's move in, move out date, right? It's how am I going to get the couch up the stairs in this apartment? Yeah, biggest lease turnover date in greater Boston. Yeah, exactly. So it's a tough, you know, it was a tough date, I think, to energize younger voters, in my opinion. I also think it's a tough date to get people. Now, that said, turnout was up a little bit from 2022. I think it was up about 100,000 voters. But I don't know where that turnout was, whether that was in, you know, a Neal or a Lynch district. So there are a couple of things now, Susan and James, that I want to focus on looking ahead. One has to do with what, if anything, is lost by not having another generation of Democrats come forward. And the other is what's gained by keeping your incumbents in place. James, I'll turn to you for that second question, because you did write something about the benefit of people who've been there a long time staying there in this moment. That's right. I mean, if Democrats take control in the majority of the U.S. House nationwide, Massachusetts is in a very powerful position. We'll have Jim McGovern at the rules committee. You have Richie Neal, basically the chairman of the rules committee, and Richie Neal, chairman of the appropriations committee. And you can go down the line around the entire state where you would have a very powerful role to bring money back, but also to have the prominent voice that some Massachusetts folks really want to have. Yeah, and at the national level, that committee's ways and means. Susan, on the flip side, so here's what we've got now, we haven't talked about Seth Moulton and Ed Markey yet. James, I know you thought that that one was sort of settled a while ago, but now let's look at Ed Markey, Susan. 2020, he beats Joe Kennedy III. 2026, he beats Seth Moulton. We had a number of other young up-and-comers trying to beat incumbents. They all lost. Is there a price to pay for not in Massachusetts making way for another generation? And, you know, the time for change arguments, those were political messages. But succession planning is something that all healthy organizations do. I hear you on that, but the reality is that many young voters, especially in that Markey race, supported Markey. You know, that is who they chose and wanted to represent them, one. And two, I agree that it's great to get young people involved, but I also think young people have to get involved in politics in other ways. And simply running for office isn't the only way to have a voice. And Ed Markey is the perfect example of that. Young people are so influential and were so influential in his race, both this time and last time. So simply being the candidate isn't the only way for young voters to have a voice. However, I agree. You know, we are in a place where it is time for some new candidates and new people to get involved. And I think that will come. I do think that will happen. James Pindell, do you agree? Well, by definition, people will die and we have to move on. But look, if you're having a simple argument that it's time for younger blood because it's time for younger blood, obviously we're living in a post-Joe Biden Democratic Party. And that argument has resonated for a lot of folks. But it is really about, do you believe that your leaders are doing enough on the issues that you care about? And in the case of, say, Ed Markey and in the case of the incumbents who won anyway, I guess the answer is yes. So James, just briefly, what does Seth Moulton, for example, do now? Seth Moulton, look, he was in a situation where he was either going to go up or out. We see that in a lot of fields. I think he's going to go make a lot of money. And Susan Tracy, with about a minute left, what are you going to watch for in November now? Well, you know, I think now we go to the top of the ticket, right? I mean, these congressional races are settled. The Senate race is largely settled. I know that there's a Republican opponent. But now I think we're, yeah, I think now we have to watch for the Healy-Mineau race. I think that's where the action and the eyes will be over the next few weeks. And James, you, what will you watch for? The same thing, and obviously the nationwide conversation. James Pindell of The Boston Globe, Susan Tracy of The Strategy Group, thanks to both of you. You bet. Thank you. Nice to talk with you both.