Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) fended off primary challenger Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-MA) in the Massachusetts elections on Tuesday night.
Markey, who co-sponsored the Green New Deal with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and had cultivated mass support among progressives in the race, described via Twitter his victory as an “undeniable mandate for change.”
“Tonight is more than just a celebration of an election, it is a celebration of a movement,” the senator tweeted. “Thank you to the thousands of grassroots supporters who organized around the principles that we believe in.”
Markey highlighted his commitment to progressive values, stating that “we made it clear that we’d rather lose fighting as hard as we could for what we believe in than in finding the middle ground.”
Kennedy told supporters that he had called Markey to congratulate the incumbent and “pledge my support to him and his campaign in the months ahead.”
“The senator is a good man,” he said. “You have never heard me say otherwise.”
The congressman also tweeted that he was “so proud of what we built together.”
“I’d do it with you all again in a heartbeat,” he wrote.
The primary marks the first defeat in Massachusetts for the long-reigning Kennedy dynasty.
Too bad Kennedy tried this. It was too early in his career. My guess is it would be awkward to try to run for congress again in two years.
I’m not sure I’m crazy about this as a guiding principle in a historical moment when the party as a whole can’t afford to lose. If he wanted to say the people of Massachusetts have always been forward-looking and they’ve shown they’re ready for bold new ideas, great, I love that. But two months before we decide if we’re going to vote for one of those reviled centrist Democrats at the top of the ticket or sit on our hands at home with our unsullied principles to keep us warm, I’m not crazy about disparaging the idea of finding common ground with other wings of the party.
A victory of a work horse over a show horse.
Before people make all sorts of assumptions about why Markey won (progressive’s v. moderates), I will say this: Markey’s campaign was miles ahead of Kennedy’s. My wife and I received countless texts/calls from the Markey campaign. Not one from Kennedy’s. I even joked that I was going to vote for Kennedy because Markey’s texts were so annoying. Markey’s campaign fought like they were desperate to win. I have no idea what Kennedy’s was thinking. Name alone was going to be enough?
I agree.
I expect his House seat was safe for him as long as he had wanted it.
Had Kennedy been patient, he could have likely walked into either Markey’s or Warren’s seat upon either’s retirement.
Now, if Warren ascends to a cabinet position Kennedy is less likely to do well in a special because he jumped the gun.
He should have openly considered challenging Markey then dropped back. This would have made his eventual run stronger.
Now he just looks impatient and it makes it obvious he hardly even cares for the Senate seat and that the presidency is his goal. He wanted to jump to the Senate to look good for 2024 VP orv2028 Presidential nominee.