Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, the Democratic nominee in the January 19 special election to succeed Ted Kennedy in the Senate, will be officially endorsed tomorrow by members of the Kennedy family, the Coakley campaign announced in a press release.
The group will be led by Ted Kennedy’s widow Vicki, accompanied by former Rep. Joseph Kennedy (a son of Robert F. Kennedy) and his son Joseph Kennedy III. Also in attendance will be Rep. Ed Markey, Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn, and interim Sen. Paul Kirk, who was previously a long-time aide to Ted Kennedy and a family friend.
It shouldn’t be too surprising that Kennedy relatives would be supporting the Democrat. However, the optics of the event itself could be politically useful, in light of Republican candidate Scott Brown’s recent TV ad, which uses footage of President John F. Kennedy proposing a tax cut in 1962. The ad declares that Brown’s message of tax cuts today makes him just like JFK, so having actual Kennedys on hand to endorse Coakley could help counter whatever traction Brown might get.
