Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-MA) announced on Saturday that he is officially launching a bid to unseat Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) when the Massachusetts senator is up for re-election in 2020.
“Big news: I’m running for U.S. Senate,” Kennedy wrote on Twitter. “This isn’t a time for waiting, for sitting on the sidelines, or for playing by rules that don’t work anymore. This is the fight of our lives, the fight of my generation – and I’m all in.”
Kennedy’s formal announcement, however, came earlier in the day while giving a speech in the basement of the East Boston Social Center.
“We have a Senate that instead of trying to harness the opportunity and potential of every person in this country, they’re trying to pull us back,” Kennedy said to the crowd. “I’m running for the United States Senate to tear that down, to fight back.”
The announcement comes only weeks after the Massachusetts congressman confirmed on his social media account that he was, in fact, mulling over a Senate run.
At the time, he stated that he had not decisively made up his mind and was still discussing the possibility with his family. Even prior to the social media post, however, Kennedy had already filed the necessary paperwork to launch a Senate campaign, according to The Boston Globe. Furthermore, he had also submitted a statement of candidacy and even created a campaign fundraising committee for a statewide race.
Kennedy is a member of the famed Kennedy dynasty – he is the grandson of the late U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and the son of former Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II (D-MA). To date, No one in his political dynasty family has lost an election in the state.
While addressing the room of supporters, reporters, and his family, Kennedy gave an impassioned speech where he demanded change that goes beyond simple attacks on President Donald Trump and the Republican Party. He notably abstained from mentioning Markey during his speech.
Kennedy and Markey are largely aligned ideologically and a primary race had been seen as referendum on age and personality over substance. Kennedy brushed off the perception though, and told reporters on Saturday that there are other issues that he would be addressing in the race.
Markey was first elected to Congress in 1976; then won his Senate seat during a special election in 2013. He is most well-known for sponsoring the Green New Deal with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) in 2019. The expansive climate and economic justice package notably failed to receive a single vote in the Senate when it was brought to the floor.
Ocasio-Cortez, however, endorsed Markey’s re-election to the seat in 2020, referring to him as one of the Senate’s “strongest progressives.”
“Ed looks forward to spending the next 14 months campaigning hard every day to show the people of the Commonwealth why he’s the right choice,” John Walsh, Markey’s senior campaign advisor, said in a statement regarding Kennedy’s announcement.