There’s growing chatter in Massachusetts that the last member of the Kennedy political dynasty has an eye on a Senate seat in 2020.
Standing before a group of donors at a Cape Cod fundraiser last weekend, Sen. Ed Markey joked about his current political predicament.
When you run for public office, he told them, you either run unopposed or you run paranoid. The quip, according to a source who was present, was meant to convey that Markey takes his two announced primary challengers — business executive Steve Pemberton and labor attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan — seriously.
But Markey has an even bigger reason to be paranoid: growing chatter in state political circles that the last member of the Kennedy political dynasty has an eye on his Senate seat in 2020.
A mysterious July telephone poll that tested Democratic Rep. Joe Kennedy III against Markey in a head-to-head contest first sparked speculation about the young congressman’s intentions. Then came the formation of a grass-roots group that aims to draft Kennedy into the race.
The “Jump in, Joe!” group — formed by members of Kennedy’s Boston Pride Parade Committee — launched a website, a Facebook group and a petition earlier this week.
In less than a week, the Facebook group to draft Kennedy swelled to nearly 600 members. The petition has 160 signatures. READ MORE:
Chapstick Kennedy is no JFK. #SOTU
— Mike 'Thomas Paine' Moore (@Thomas1774Paine) January 31, 2018