A new Emerson College/7 News poll finds Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) at risk of losing reelection, as he trails Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-MA), 58% to 42%, for the Democratic primary.
A new UMass-Lowell poll has Kennedy ahead 44% to 42%.
Markey Short of Signatures Ahead of May Deadline
Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) is still short the signatures he needs to get on the Democratic primary ballot for re-election, the Boston Globe reports.
He has only about 7,000 of the 10,000 he needs, but the coronavirus pandemic has dramatically slowed efforts.
Senate Primary In Massachusetts a Toss Up
A new University of Massachusetts Lowell survey in Massachusetts shows Rep. Joe Kennedy (D) just ahead of Sen. Edward Markey (D) in the Democratic primary, 35% to 34%, with another 23% still undecided.
Kennedy Outraises Markey In Senate Primary
Rep. Joseph Kennedy (D-MA) raised more than $2.4 million over the last three months of 2019, outpacing incumbent Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) by about $1 million, the Boston Globe reports.
Samantha Power Open to Senate Run
“Former UN ambassador Samantha Power said Friday she would not rule out running for the US Senate seat held by Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, should Warren be elected president,” the Boston Globe reports.
“Then again, she also said she wouldn’t rule out the job of Sox general manager, a job that’s actually open right now.”
Kennedy Will Formally Announce Senate Bid
“Rep. Joseph Kennedy (D-MA), the last member of the Democratic dynasty serving in Washington, plans to formally announce Saturday that he is launching a primary challenge to Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA), an audacious political move that could open fissures within the Democratic Party and reshape the Massachusetts political landscape,” the Boston Globe reports.
Markey Picks Up Ocasio-Cortez Endorsement
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), the young liberal icon from New York, has endorsed Sen. Ed Markey’s (D-MA) reelection bid next year, as Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-MA) considers challenging Markey for what promises to be the nation’s most competitive congressional primary, the Boston Globe reports.
Ocasio-Cortez and Markey have worked together as the primary sponsors of the Green New Deal, the signature legislative issue for both lawmakers.
Kennedy Crushes Markey In New Poll
“Buoyed by youth and a dynastic name, Representative Joseph Kennedy would hold an immediate edge over Sen. Edward Markey should the 38-year-old congressman launch a primary challenge to the seasoned incumbent,” according to a new Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll.
“Kennedy would lead a five-person field by 9 percentage points, 35% to Markey’s 26%.
“And in a head-to-head matchup, Kennedy’s advantage would grow even larger: 14 percentage points — 42% to 28%. He would best Markey in every age group and across wide geographic swaths of the state.”
Kennedy Pledges Big Changes to Washington
Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-MA) sounded like a U.S. Senate candidate in an interview with CBS Boston, especially when “pressed to expand on the systemic change he has said he could bring to Washington.”
“In our interview, he endorsed several controversial ideas that have been floated in recent months – abolishing the electoral college system that can and does award the presidency to the popular vote loser, installing term limits on Supreme Court judges, and doing away with the Senate filibuster, a tactic often used to block bills that have majority support.”
Kennedy Holds Huge Lead Over Markey
A new Change Research poll in Massachusetts finds Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-MA) leading Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) in a possible Democratic U.S. Senate primary, 42% to 25%.
Businessman Steve Pemberton earned 7% and attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan got 5%.
Quote of the Day
“I hear the folks who say I should wait my turn, but with due respect — I’m not sure this is a moment for waiting.”
— Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-MA), quoted by the Boston Globe, on a possible U.S. Senate primary against Se. Ed Markey (D-MA).
Kennedy Confirms He’s Mulling Senate Bid
Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-MA) confirmed in a Facebook post that he’s considering a bid for a U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts.
Said Kennedy: “Over the past few weeks I’ve begun to consider a run for the U.S. Senate. This isn’t a decision I’m approaching lightly and — to be completely candid — I wasn’t expecting to share my thoughts so soon.”
Kennedy Mulls Primary Challenge of Markey
Rep. Joseph Kennedy III (D-MA) is considering a primary challenge next year against Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA), the New York Times reports.
“Such a race could substantially alter the state’s political landscape and has the potential to elevate a fourth member of a Democratic dynasty to the Senate.”
“A contest between the two Massachusetts lawmakers could become the nation’s most high-profile primary race and would represent another test of the Democratic Party’s old guard. And while Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Markey are both committed progressives, the race would amount to a generational showdown between a scion of the state’s most famous family and a more than four-decade-long fixture of Massachusetts politics.”
The Left Targets Ed Markey
Politico: “Recent polling shows Markey’s support among Massachusetts Democratic and unenrolled voters is a little shakier than he would like… The senator’s favorability rating is an anemic 38 percent, with 25 percent of voters expressing an unfavorable view of him. More than a third of voters are either undecided (22 percent) or have never heard of him (14 percent), a bad omen for a pol who’s been in Congress for more than 40 years. …
“Markey isn’t the only incumbent in the state’s all-Democratic delegation looking over his shoulder. The well of pent-up progressive talent is also generating a handful of House primary challenges, including to longtime Reps. Richard Neal and Stephen Lynch, and four-term Rep. Joe Kennedy III.”
Baker Headed Towards Landslide
A new UMass Lowell/Boston Globe poll in Massachusetts finds Gov. Charlie Baker (R) leading Jay Gonzalez (D) by a stunning 39 points among likely voters, 66% to 27%.
In the U.S. Senate race, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) leads her Geoff Diehl (R), 56% to 31%.
Two Very Different Races in Massachusetts
A new Suffolk University poll in Massachusetts finds Gov. Charlie Baker (R) with a 27-point lead over challenger Jay Gonzalez (D), 55% to 28%.
In the U.S. Senate race, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D) holds an even larger gap over her challenger, Geoff Diehl (R), 54% to 24%.
Said pollster David Paleologos: “What is fascinating about this poll is that Baker’s and Warren’s path to dominating their races are so different. Warren is using the traditional path of being popular within her party and getting just enough independents, whereas Baker has even numbers across every category, even the opposing party. One is a partisan, and one is a moderate, and they end up at the same spot.”
Ethnicity Not a Factor In Warren’s Rise
“In the most exhaustive review undertaken of Elizabeth Warren’s professional history, the Boston Globe found clear evidence, in documents and interviews, that her claim to Native American ethnicity was never considered by the Harvard Law faculty, which voted resoundingly to hire her, or by those who hired her to four prior positions at other law schools. At every step of her remarkable rise in the legal profession, the people responsible for hiring her saw her as a white woman.”
Quote of the Day
“If you have an ‘R’ next to your name and you open your mouth, you’re hated. If you’re a Democrat, like Elizabeth Warren, you can say anything you please and get away with it. That’s where we are.”
— Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R), quoted by the Boston Globe, while campaigning for Massachusetts U.S. Senate candidate Geoff Diehl (R).
