The old-timer reinvents himself and beats a Kennedy…..
In Massachusetts better yet….
The past is gone….
Progressives get another notch….
Nancy Pelosi gets one her rare loses….
Oh?….And the polls got this one right…..
(They started strong Kennedy and showed how he lost his lead)
Sen. Ed Markey (D) defeated Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D) in the Massachusetts Senate primary on Tuesday, overcoming a high-profile challenge that drew the attention of the national media as well as some of the biggest players in Democratic politics.
His primary win paves the way for his expected reelection in November.
The 74-year-old Markey campaigned heavily on his progressive record, particularly regarding environmental issues, citing his co-authorship of the Green New Deal with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who endorsed him over Kennedy.
The senator’s campaign slogan read, “It’s not your age — it’s the age of your ideas that’s important.”
The incumbent senator also boasted support from prominent progressive groups such as the Sunrise Movement and Our Revolution as well as left-wing congressional candidates Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush.
Kennedy, 39, criticized Markey for not being present enough in Massachusetts during his tenure in the Senate, arguing that new blood was needed in the upper chamber.
Kennedy started out with a double-digit lead in the polls when he announced he was challenging Markey last year. However, despite the public backing of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) and other high-profile members of the House, his lead evaporated in the final weeks of the campaign, with the RealClearPolitics polling average showing Markey with an 11.2-point lead.
The election marks the first time a member of the Kennedy political dynasty has lost a statewide election in Massachusetts….
image….NRDC Action Fund
Markey didn’t “reinvent” himself.
He’s always been very Liberal Congressman and Senator.
You’re as bad as Trump in making things up to fit your own reality.
I agree, I know Markey, he didn’t reinvent anything, and he could certainly use a personality by-pass since he’s an asshole. But he did benefit from his endorsements, like Warren and a voting record almost identical to Kennedy’s.
Joe Biden proved voters don’t hold old decade old decisions against them if they have changed their positions with the times. There simply wasn’t a hook for Kennedy to run on.
I hope he runs for Governor. He and his cousin Patrick are incredibly nice, decent people who need to be in public office.
He, he, he….
An asshole, huh?
Guys?
Clinton got beat up for Iraq and the Crime bIll….
Markey got a pass….
Sure it was back in the day when a lot of the young voters where not around…
I’ll leave it at that…
I don’t live in MA and didn’t follow this race. But I didn’t see a whole lot of difference between Markey and Kennedy on issues. Kennedy was just running as “new”.
And he wound up being the first of his family to lose a primary in Massachusetts.
Living in Rhode Island, in a TV market that covers S.E. Massachusetts, including much Joe Kennedy’s 4th District, I did see a fair amount of the race, and several of the Markey-Kennedy debates.
Scott’s impression is basically right: very little divided the two candidates on policy, except (1) Markey, having already having served for 44 years, was vulnerable to criticism on a few issues, e.g. the Crime Control Bill of 1994, but (2) Markey was rather more explicit in supporting Medicare for All and the Green New Deal (which he said in his ads, “I wrote.”) So, despite Joe Kennedy’s very liberal record in the House, he would have been the preference on policy of more-moderate Democratic voters.
The other differences were the Kennedy name (Joe Kennedy III is RFK’s grandson), youth and what seems to have been Kennedy’s simple ambition — this seemed to him and his team his best chance for moving up (running against Elizabeth Warren for the other Senate seat would have been far more challenging, although Gov. Charlie Baker’s job will fall open in two years).
Jack?
What about the Iraq War?
And as DSD points out the Crime Bill from Bill Clinton’s time….
He DID re-invent himself….
The Senator Is NOW as progressive as Kennedy ….
And has been able to get over on the fact that younger voters probably do NOT have the same feeling for the Kennedy’ name as older voters….
The guy done good….
He, he, he….
The young guy got out foxed by the old-timer who was faster and better on his feet….
No he didn’t .
As Keith points out above.He hasn’t changed.Hes always been thought of as a very liberal Senator.People change positions all the time.To characterize such as a”reinvention” is preposterous.
When CG announces he’s for AOC?Now that would be a”reinvention.!”
We all appreciate the site but you?
Sort of like an old uncle who occasionally spouts off inanities sometimes humorous, more often so out there that one just smiles,shakes their head and moves on.
Preposterous is the right word Jack.
And, as I’ve written here before, Joe Kennedy seemed to be doing a perfectly fine job as Representative for the 4th District of Massachusetts, so (although I favoured Sen. Markey’s re-election), I think its a shame that he will no longer do so.
Seven Democrats competed for the open 4th District seat, all from the Boston suburbs (Newton, Wellesley and Brookline), while many of the gerrymandered district lies further southeast, in devastated mill towns like Fall River. The race is currently undecided between Jessie Mermell, a Newton town councillor, and Jake Auchincloss (a relative of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy’s grandfather). Although I saw scads of ads, and the district’s next door to Rhode Island, I didn’t follow the race closely. Apparently, very little divided the candidates on issues, and one account of a debate said they jumped right from not answering the question to finding fault with fine points in their opponents’ records and past statements.
Should Kennedy have waited for after the election and a possible Warren cabinet appointment if Dem’s had a Senate majority that could spare her leaving and Baker naming a Republican for a special election run off?
I hadn’t thought of that, although that would require:
(1) Biden winning the Presidency, and
(2) The Senate turning Democratic (a GOP Senate would probably block her appointment to anything so great is the animus towards her of the banks and the right wing in general; I think that right-wing ads use her as a scarecrow for their base).
Plus Sen. Warren would have to be willing to give up her seat — where she now has some power and would have even more in a Democratic Senate — in the first place.
P.S.’s and corrections:
Jesse Mermell is a selectwoman in Brookline; Jack Auchincloss is on the Newton town council.
Auchincloss (showing more strength in the grittier south of the 4th district) is now very narrowly leading Mermel 22.4% to 21.4% with 96.4 % of precincts counted. It may be days before we know who won.
From WCVB Channel 5 Boston:
Mermell, 40, became the youngest member of the Brookline Select Board when she was elected in 2007. The Boston College graduate then became the communications director for former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and was a senior leader at Planned Parenthood. Two former Democratic candidates for the 4th Congressional District seat, Cavell and Zannetos, dropped out of the race in recent weeks to back Mermell.
Auchincloss, 32, has served on the Newton City Council since 2015 and has been reelected twice. He is also chair of the city’s transportation and public safety committee. After graduating from Harvard College, the Newton native joined the U.S. Marine Corps and rose to the rank of captain. He also previously worked as a product manager at a cybersecurity startup that protected small businesses from online threats, and later as a senior manager at Liberty Mutual’s innovation lab….
https://www.wcvb.com/article/massachusetts-4th-congressional-district-democratic-primary-too-close-to-call/33901771
Thanks for the in depth backgrounder DSD…
Winner of 4th District Democratic primary may not be declared for days
WCVB
Updated: 7:02 PM EDT Sep 2, 2020
BOSTON —
The Suffolk Superior Court has approved a request from Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin to continue counting ballots in the Democratic primary race to represent the 4th congressional district of Massachusetts.
Jake Auchincloss appeared to have a narrow lead as of Wednesday, but the race is still too close to call. Jesse Mermell is in a close second place, separated from the lead by about 1%.
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Galvin said it may not be fully resolved for days.
Auchincloss and Mermell are leading the crowded field of Democrats running for the nomination to fill the U.S. House of Representatives seat being vacated by Rep. Joe Kennedy III, who left for his failed challenge against Sen. Ed Markey.
The 4th District includes the Boston suburbs of Newton and Brookline and winds south through Attleboro, Fall River and Taunton.
Other members of the Democratic field include Becky Grossman, Alan Khazei, Ihssane Leckey, Dr. Natalia Linos and Ben Sigel.
Galvin said his team is checking with all of the city and town clerks in the district to double-check the results of the 4th District race. He said that work is not expected to be done Wednesday.
“We will have some definitive numbers. We’re canvassing, we’re asking all the local officials to check all of their local materials,” Galvin said. “We don’t have the ballots in our possession, they do. We want to make sure that everything is done properly and once we’ve concluded what the final, official numbers are, we will reveal them. And we will see if there is any further review required or asked for.”
In Newton, the city clerk said Galvin’s office told him to put a “hold” on counting 751 ballots which were received between 5 and 8 p.m. on Tuesday.
Galvin’s office confirmed to NewsCenter 5’s David Bienick that the secretary had asked local election officials to wait for authorization from the court, so that ballots can be counted in a public and transparent way.
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Subsequently, Galvin issued a statement that said he was asking a court to authorize local election officials to continue counting ballots that were received on time but have not yet been counted. He wrote that state laws lack procedures for counting after Election Day and he wants local election officials to have “the legal authorization they need to tally ballots in a manner that is open to public observation.”
According to Galvin’s office, the count will resume on Thursday and each local election official must give the state at least three hours’ notice for their start times.
“We are pleased to see the actions being taken by clerks and Secretary of State Galvin to secure and count all the votes in this race,” Mermell campaign manager Katie Prisco-Buxbaum wrote in a statement. “This is exactly in line with the concerns our campaign raised earlier today. Given the unprecedented nature of this election process, we believe it is incumbent on all communities to be clear about how many ballots are outstanding, including ballots that arrived as polls closed, so that we can have the utmost confidence in the end result.”
Mermell currently trails Auchincloss by about 1,500 votes and she must be able to cut his lead in half in order to be able to request an official recount of the ballots.
Whoever emerges with the victory for the Democrats will face Republican nominee Julie Hall, an Air Force veteran, in the November general election….
https://www.wcvb.com/article/massachusetts-4th-congressional-district-democratic-primary-too-close-to-call/33901771#