Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., is facing a challenger who is making age a central issue of his bid to unseat the longtime lawmaker.

On Wednesday, Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., launched his U.S. Senate campaign with a video called "Lesson," referencing what his party learned during the last election cycle with then-President Joe Biden.

"We're in a crisis, and with everything we learned last election, I just don't believe Senator Markey should be running for another six-year term at 80 years old. 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," Moulton said in his campaign launch video.

Markey is 79 years old and will turn 80 before the 2026 election.

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"Senator Markey is a good man, but it's time for a new generation of leadership," Moulton asserted in the video.

Markey was first elected to Congress in 1976 and served as a U.S. representative until 2013, when he became a senator. He has held his Senate seat for 12 years.

Moulton's challenge could set the stage for a generational shift within the Democratic Party, which struggled last election cycle after Biden was forced to drop out of the race in July, leaving then-Vice President Kamala Harris with just 107 days to run her presidential campaign. She lost every swing state and the popular vote to now-President Donald Trump.

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This is not Moulton's first time challenging the Democratic establishment. When Moulton was first elected to Congress in 2014, he defeated then-Rep. John Tierney, D-Mass., who first made it to Congress in 1997. In 2018, Moulton attempted to challenge Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who was then House Minority Leader, in her bid to become House Speaker. The move was criticized by some constituents who claimed Moulton's actions were sexist and ageist, according to Politico.

In 2020, Markey defeated Rep. Joe Kennedy III, who was 40 at the time. Politico noted that Markey took a swipe at Kennedy with a riff on his great uncle's famous line, "Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country." Markey also mocked the idea that he was too old to keep his seat, saying, "With 500 laws on the books, you think I'm gonna stop now? They wish."

Markey will be put to the test once again in November 2026. If he defeats Moulton, Markey will be 86 at the end of his next term.

Fox News Digital reached out to Markey and Moulton's offices for comment.

A Missouri man who was convicted of fatally shooting a state trooper 20 years ago was executed Tuesday.

Lance Shockley, 48, died by lethal injection shortly after 6 p.m. at the state prison in Bonne Terre.

Shockley, who long maintained his innocence, was convicted of killing Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Carl Dewayne Graham Jr. in March 2005. Prosecutors said he waited for hours near Graham’s home in Van Buren before shooting him first with a rifle, then with a shotgun when the trooper exited his patrol vehicle.

In the death chamber, Shockley’s head was elevated on a pillow. He lifted his head and spoke to loved ones in the witness room to his left. A woman appeared to try to converse with him through the soundproof glass.

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After about 90 seconds, Shockley laid his head back on the pillow and appeared to stop talking.

Shockley’s final visitors Tuesday morning were his two daughters and a friend, according to prison officials. His last meal consisted of three packs of oatmeal, peanut butter, water and two sports drinks.

In a written final statement, Shockley cited a Bible passage from the Book of John: "So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you."

Shockley's appeals and requests for a new trial were all denied. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeals earlier on Tuesday.

On Monday, Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe denied his request for clemency.

"Violence against those who risk their lives every day to protect our communities will never be tolerated. Missouri stands firmly with our men and women in uniform," Kehoe said in a statement.

Shockley was convicted in March 2009 and sentenced to death two months later. Prosecutors said he killed Sergeant Graham because he was investigating Shockley for involuntary manslaughter after he left the scene of a deadly accident that killed his best friend.

One of Shockley’s attorneys, Jeremy Weis, said prosecutors failed to show direct evidence connecting his client to the killing.

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"The state’s case remained circumstantial," Weis said last week while discussing the case at the University of Missouri School of Law. "The murder weapons were never found. There were disagreements between the ballistics experts hired by the prosecution."

Witnesses placed Shockley about 14 miles from Graham’s home when prosecutors said he was waiting near the trooper's residence.

Prosecutors countered that Shockley had asked where Graham lived before the killing and tried to dispose of a box of .243-caliber ammunition around the time of the crime, according to court documents.

Shockley is the first person executed in Missouri this year, with no other executions scheduled for the remainder of 2025. The state's last execution was carried out on Dec. 3, 2024, when Christopher Collings was put to death for the sexual assault and killing of a 9-year-old girl.

Shockley was one of two people executed in the U.S. on Tuesday. Samuel Lee Smithers, 72, died by lethal injection in Florida for the killings of two women whose bodies were found in a pond in 1996, extending the Sunshine State's already record number of executions for the year to 14.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.