February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
And, thus far, none of them are named Kennedy.
The opening up of the Senate contest follows the announcement by former congressman Joseph Kennedy that he will not be a candidate to fill his late uncle’s seat.
“Given all that my uncle accomplished, it was only natural to consider getting back involved in public office,” Kennedy, 56, said in a statement on the website of Citizens Energy, the non-profit organization he founded in 1979 to provide discounted heating oil to low-income families.
“My father called politics an honorable profession, and I have profound respect for those who choose to advance the causes of social and economic justice in elective office,” Kennedy said. “After much consideration, I have decided that the best way for me to contribute to those causes is by continuing my work at Citizens Energy Corporation,” said the former six-term congressman.
The announcement caught many pundits by surprise, and will now open the door for other potential candidates to step forward, from Democratic and Republican ranks, if not Kennedy ones.
Many voters are hoping that former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling will enter the race as an Independent. Democrat Martha Coakley, the state’s attorney general, was the first to formally enter the race.
U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch from South Boston will likely be a strong contender in the Democratic primary if he chooses to run. On the Republican side, former lieutenant governor Kerry Healey announced that she will not be a candidate, which narrows the potential GOP field to a group of lesser known candidates.
“Every House representative is now a potential candidate following Kennedy’s decision,” said one well placed source.
As yet, there has been no formal statement of possible intent to seek the Senate seat from Ted Kennedy’s wife, Vicki. Reports have indicated that she is not inclined to run.
And while Edward Kennedy Jr.’s eulogy for his father was widely acclaimed, there has been, as yet, no hint or indication that he will make a bid.
Reps. Ed Markey, Michael Capuano, John Tierney and former congressman Marty Meehan have all been named in reports among the list of possible Democratic contenders.
One congressman not running is Richard Neal, Democratic chairman of the congressional Friends of Ireland. A spokesman said that Neal, who like Coakley is from the western part of the state, would not be running “for a variety of reasons.”
The Kennedy connection to the now vacant Senate seat goes back to John F. Kennedy.
JFK was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1946 and the Bay State is now facing the prospect of having no Kennedy representing it in Washington for the first time since that year.
Primary Day for the Senate contest will be Dec. 8 while the special election has been set for Jan. 19.