Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’s warning that there will never be another Camelot isn’t stopping her grand-nephew from trying to recreate a little family history.
Massachusetts Rep. Joe Kennedy III, 39, surprised few pundits last September when he announced he wanted to run for the Senate, hoping to reclaim the seat held by the political dynasty for more than half a century.
But what rankled establishment Democrats was that the grandson of the late Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy wanted to run now, challenging incumbent Sen. Ed Markey, the 73-year-old dean of the state’s congressional delegation. Rank-and-file members of the party don’t seem as bothered though.
Polling suggests Kennedy has good odds ahead of the Sept. 1 primary, tantamount to a general election in deep-blue Massachusetts. A survey conducted by Suffolk University, the Boston Globe, and WBZ-TV in March found the fourth-term lawmaker, who represents an area stretching from parts of western Boston to the state’s south coast, was 6 percentage points ahead of Markey. More recent public opinion research has been criticized for its methodologies.
Kennedy, a former assistant district attorney, has a cash advantage as well. He had $6.6 million in his accounts at the end of March, compared to Markey’s $4.4 million, according to first financial quarter disclosure reports. Kennedy’s impressive war chest has financed outlays such as a $1.2 million statewide advertising effort in an expensive media market.
Yet questions persist as to why Kennedy is forcing a primary contest with Markey when there’s hardly any daylight between them on policy and Democrats should be focusing on ousting President Trump from the White House. Key Democrats also support Markey, ranging from progressive firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from New York for his work on the Green New Deal to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who sided with Markey over her ex-Harvard Law School student.
Brooking Institution’s Darrell West, the author of the 2000 book Patrick Kennedy: The Rise to Power, agreed that the younger Kennedy has “a chance in Massachusetts due to the strength of his family name and the power of generational politics.”
“People like new voices and new ways of looking at things. There aren’t substantial policy differences between the two candidates, which elevates factors such as personality and age,” West told the Washington Examiner.
West added that during an economic downturn similar to the coronavirus-driven pressure being experienced now, “nostalgia can be an important factor as people yearn for simpler times.”
Massachusetts-based Democratic strategist Mary Anne Marsh disputed the belief that Kennedy and Markey were indistinguishable on policy.
Although Markey has shown leadership on issues such as climate change and union rights during his more than four decades on Capitol Hill, Marsh said the senator was now being pushed to defend, for example, his voting record on the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, and the Iraq War.
She predicted the tussle would be defined by who was the most progressive. At the same time, it’s Kennedy’s decisive lead among Massachusetts’s so-called “unenrolled” or independent voters that’s propelling his popularity in the polls, paired with Markey’s weak reelection numbers, she said.
“There’s been a movement afoot here in Massachusetts for some time now where people are challenging incumbents or beating the people that conventional wisdom would say that candidate would win,” she told the Washington Examiner, citing Rep. Ayanna Pressley and state Attorney General Maura Healey.
Marsh explained, “For decades and generations, everyone would wait their turn. There’s no waiting their turn anymore.”
For the strategist, Kennedy’s decision to stop fundraising amid the coronavirus pandemic could prove pivotal. Instead, he’s diverting money and staff to COVID-19 causes and is using social media for outbreak outreach, including reading bedtime stories to children. Some of his livestreams have reached millions of people.
Kennedy’s bid is still imbued with risk. If he loses, the Stanford lacrosse and Peace Corps alum extinguishes a proud family legacy. His grandfather was a New York senator from 1965, one great-uncle was President John F. Kennedy (previously a Massachusetts senator), and another was Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, a legendary liberal lion.
Marsh, however, was confident about Kennedy’s chances.
“This period of the pandemic, March to whenever, will determine literally the outcome of every race in this country,” she said.
“You’ve had people at home. They’re concerned. They’ve maybe been sick, lost their jobs, worried about their loved ones. They’re in front of every screen you can imagine, and they’re looking for leadership. They’re looking for information. They’re looking for help,” she said. “And they’re taking measure of everyone and what they are doing or not doing. I think he’s navigated this incredibly well.”
