Amy Kennedy, wife of former Democratic Rep. Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island, is running for Congress.
Kennedy, 44, announced Monday she was contesting the Democratic nomination in a south New Jersey congressional district where the couple now live in what is her first foray into federal politics. The traditionally Republican seat, which covers Atlantic City, is currently held by Rep. Jeff Van Drew, 66, a longtime Democratic lawmaker who switched parties in December over President Trump’s impeachment.
“As a former history teacher and a mother of five, I know that this is a historic moment in time when our children’s future is on the line. Our country is in crisis, and our leaders like Donald Trump and Jeff Van Drew have lost their moral compass. Environmental protections for our coastal communities are being traded in for profits. Race baiting and fear mongering have taken over. We no longer talk to our families and our neighbors because of our divisive politics,” Kennedy, now a mental health advocate via the Kennedy Forum, wrote in a statement.
If elected to the House, Kennedy would be the first female Kennedy-in-law to be elevated to public office, on the heels of a record number of women winning House and Senate seats in 2018. She would also be only the second female House member whose husband served in the chamber to do so while he was still alive, but the first to represent a different state than her spouse.
Patrick Kennedy, 52, was a Rhode Island representative from 1995 to 2011. He quit Congress after his father’s death and a series of public drug- and alcohol-related episodes. After leaving Capitol Hill, Kennedy announced his engagement to then-Amy Savell, an eighth-grade history teacher. The couple has four children, plus one from her previous marriage.
Despite her extended family’s political pedigree and fundraising advantage, Amy Kennedy’s primary race will be a tough one, vying against several well-known New Jersey Democrats for the nomination. The general election, potentially against Van Drew, will also be competitive, given the district supported Trump in 2016.
