Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, a newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.

In today’s edition, Bridget Bowman explores how Democrats’ generational divisions are coming to a head in 2026 primaries. Plus, Allan Smith explains why data centers are starting to emerge as a key political issue.

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— Adam Wollner

Democrats’ generational battle fuels contentious primaries

By Bridget Bowman

The generational angst within the Democratic Party is reaching a boiling point and spilling over into the party’s 2026 primaries.

Rep. Seth Moulton’s announcement today that he is launching a primary challenge against Sen. Ed Markey in Massachusetts makes him the latest Democrat to directly take on a more senior member of the party and make his case for a “new generation of leadership.”

“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,” Moulton, 46, said in his video announcement. “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.”

Markey’s campaign manager, Cam Charbonnier, responded in a statement noting that Moulton is launching his campaign during a government shutdown.

“Senator Markey is doing his job — voting against Trump’s extremist agenda and working to stop the MAGA attacks on health care so that we can reopen the government. That’s what leadership looks like and what the residents of Massachusetts expect from their Senator,” Charbonnier said.

The Massachusetts race is just the latest generational battle playing out in a Democratic primary ahead of next year’s midterms. The angst among younger Democrats has been fueled — as Moulton alluded to — by Donald Trump’s victory last year amid concerns about Joe Biden’s age and his ultimate withdrawal from the presidential race.

In Maine, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, 77, launched her campaign this week against GOP Sen. Susan Collins. One of her chief primary rivals, oyster farmer Graham Platner, 40, began airing a TV ad on MSNBC featuring women discussing the race and saying, “Janet Mills again? She was a good governor but I think it’s time for change.”

The party’s generational divide also played out in House primaries across the country, most recently with Tennessee state Rep. Justin Pearson, 30, announcing his Democratic primary bid against longtime Rep. Steve Cohen, 76.

It is very rare for a sitting member of Congress to lose a primary — it only happened four times in the House last cycle. A sitting senator hasn’t lost a primary since 2017, when appointed Sen. Luther Strange, R-Ala., lost the GOP nomination to Roy Moore in a special primary election.

But at the very least, these primary battles will force Democrats to confront tough questions about what sort of party they will be heading into the 2026 and 2028 elections — and beyond.

The sleeper issue that could play a huge role in Virginia and New Jersey — and the midterms

By Allan Smith

Leaders in both parties are locked in competition to encourage tech giants to put sprawling data centers in their states, looking for an economic leg up and an innovation edge in the early days of the artificial intelligence boom.

Now, those same leaders are dealing with a downside that’s more apparent by the month: Those electricity-hungry data centers are a major contributor to rising utility bills for cost-conscious residents who have been concerned about rising prices for years.

“Voters are mad as hell about energy prices increasing,” Virginia state Del. Shelly Simonds, a Democrat, said. “And they’re mad about affordability in general. And anybody who ignores these issues does so at their peril. It’s definitely going to be an issue during the midterms.”

This is becoming clearer in her state — considered the nation’s data center hub — and New Jersey, which has experienced some of the largest year-over-year electricity bill hikes on a percentage basis. They also happen to be the two states with the biggest elections this fall.

Data centers are required to run everything from Uber to Netflix to Amazon. But those required to run artificial intelligence programs demand an outsize amount of power compared with their predecessors: A recent Bloomberg News analysis of electricity prices across the country found that monthly electricity costs have gone up as much as 267% compared with five years ago in locations near substantial data center activity.

While the nominees for governor in both states have promised to tackle rising prices, leaders say they have yet to hear much discussion of the data center angle. NBC News spoke with 14 elected officials and stakeholders for this report on how states are handling the data center boom — and everything that comes with it.

“People are now looking at this, going, ‘What the hell is going on?’” Virginia state Sen. Richard Stuart, a Republican, said. “And rightly so. And to be honest with you, it should be a big part of the campaign, but I don’t know that I’m hearing it.”

Read more from Allan →

🗳️ More on the November elections: Nearly two-thirds of the money Republicans have spent on ads up and down the ballot in Virginia over the past week have focused on Democratic attorney general nominee Jay Jones’ violent texts, Adam Edelman, Bridget Bowman and Owen Auston-Babcock report.

That’s all From the Politics Desk for now. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner.

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