The Kennedy political dynasty could return to the Senate, The New York Times reports.
An anonymous senior Democratic official told the Times that Rep. Joseph Kennedy III (D-Mass.), the grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, is contemplating launching a primary challenge against Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) next year. The official said the congressman would make a decision in the coming weeks, although Politico reports that Kennedy's House re-election campaign maintains that he's staying in that chamber of Congress.
But the 38-year-old Kennedy has garnered enthusiasm from would-be supporters and his aides did not deny that they commissioned testing his prospects against Markey, which the Times reports even Markey's advisers acknowledged would likely show Kennedy leading.
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The possibility of a high-profile primary face-off between Markey and Kennedy would be another example of the youth movement within the Democratic Party challenging the "old guard." Markey is 73, but he is also a "committed" progressive in the same mold as Kennedy. Their divide, then, would be more along generational lines than ideology.
Kennedy is popular, but even if he does decide to run for Senate, his last name isn't likely to scare off Markey. "Ed is not going anywhere," Paul Tencher, a senior adviser to Markey's campaign, told the Times. "He's going to run, and he's going to run no matter who is in this race." Markey has already secured the support of his colleague Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). Warren's seat, of course, could be another opportunity for Kennedy — and others — to seek election to the Senate if she wins the presidency in 2020. Read more at The New York Times and Politico.
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