MA-SEN Megathread: Senator Markey wins

[RogueBeaver]

She explicitly endorsed Markey in a video last month but praised Kennedy, who after all is her former student.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

She explicitly endorsed Markey in a video last month but praised Kennedy, who after all is her former student.

Joe Kennedy doesnt need an endorsement from Warren due to the fact that if Warren becomes President, he or Pressler would be running for the other seat; thus nullifying a victory of Kennedy by Markey, if there is one

[RogueBeaver]

https://twitter.com/AlexClearfield/status/1173605657259466752

[Mister Mets]

Moulton and Pressley are staying neutral for now, AOC might hold GND town halls with Markey, and some MA Dems expect Kennedy to launch any day now.

I'm wondering if AOC sees him a threat. If a 40 year old Kennedy gets elected to the Senate, he immediately becomes a major rising star, with an easy road to a key early primary state in presidential elections.

[Brittain33]

Moulton and Pressley are staying neutral for now, AOC might hold GND town halls with Markey, and some MA Dems expect Kennedy to launch any day now.

I'm wondering if AOC sees him a threat. If a 40 year old Kennedy gets elected to the Senate, he immediately becomes a major rising star, with an easy road to a key early primary state in presidential elections.

I really think that's overthinking it, that's too far in the future for her to play those kind of game. I've been following Markey and AOC on Twitter for months and she's clearly grateful to him for taking up the GND in the Senate and running with it and wants to be there for him. They did a lot of joint media at the start of the session.

[Skunk]

He's officially in.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Great

[Heebie Jeebie]

He's officially in.

I hope he wins.

[MillennialModerate]

He's officially in.

Yes! #KennedyForSenate

[Heebie Jeebie]

Any chance this news might nudge Lisa Madigan toward challenging Dick Durbin?

[Skye]

Can we get an F in the chat for our boi Markey?

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

I’m with Markey.

[Politician]

#AnyoneButKennedy

[MillennialModerate]

#AnyoneButKennedy

The fact someone calls themselves a “Democrat” and thinks this way, blows my mind

[Elcaspar]

#AnyoneButKennedy

The fact someone calls themselves a “Democrat” and thinks this way, blows my mind

Why anyone would support someone purely because of their family name blows my mind.

[H. Ross Peron]

#AnyoneButKennedy

The fact someone calls themselves a “Democrat” and thinks this way, blows my mind

What does Kennedy offer besides his name?

[Heebie Jeebie]

#AnyoneButKennedy

The fact someone calls themselves a “Democrat” and thinks this way, blows my mind

What does Kennedy offer besides his name?

Youth?  A Senator who's not a slave to outdated, regressive proceduralism?  
https://thehill.com/campaign-issues/460171-joe-kennedy-iii-calls-for-changing-or-eliminating-filibuster-electoral-college

Here's Markey back in February:

During Thursday’s press conference unveiling the Green New Deal, Sen. Ed Markey was asked by the New Yorker’s Osita Nwanevu if, should the situation arise, the Democrats should eliminate the filibuster in order to get the bill through the Senate. Markey’s response was that he expects the bill to pass with 60 votes and Republican support.

Markey later backtracked a bit and said that other legislative options, including budget reconciliation, were on the table. But his initial hesitancy to suggest getting rid of the most archaic and anti-democratic tool in the most archaic and anti-democratic legislative body in America says a lot about how institutionally conservative the Senate makes those who serve in it.

https://splinternews.com/kill-the-filibuster-before-it-kills-us-1832468668

[Gracile]

#AnyoneButKennedy

The fact someone calls themselves a “Democrat” and thinks this way, blows my mind

You could say the same about someone who's in favor of primarying an incumbent Democratic Senator for no good reason.

[Heebie Jeebie]

https://twitter.com/frankthorp/status/1174457786262048768

[SnowLabrador]

Ugh. He's my rep, Kennedy is. So disappointed in him; if Warren is elected as President, he'll have that as an opportunity. Plus Markey's in his 70s and probably would retire in 2026; he could run then.

[96FJV]

I tend to be in the Sanders/Warren camp. Markey supports a Green New Deal, and Co-Sponsors M4A. Is Kennedy still against marijuana legalization? Did not expect this from him, I would have that Moulton would pull this sort of stunt.

[QAnonKelly]

This is a dumb move

[Heebie Jeebie]

I wonder to what extent Markey’s decision not to run for Senate in 2010 changed the course of American history. He had millions in the bank, wouldn’t have committed Coakley’s epic gaffes, Senate Ds might have had 60 votes for much, much longer...  And of course, Markey's signature bill, the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill, was left for dead after Scott Brown's victory, never to be heard from again.  Markey has bad political instincts and we'd all be better off if he'd retire.

[Calthrina950]

He's officially in.

I hope he wins.

Lord have mercy on our souls! Political dynasties continue to dominate. I hope Markey prevails in this contest.

[Alben Barkley]

If I were Kennedy, I wouldn’t do this. I think it’s a mistake. If he fails he’s basically finished — he’d never be able to live down the humiliation of being the Kennedy who lost a Senate race in Massachusetts, and in a Democratic primary at that. It’s not worth it. It only would be if Markey was unpopular or scandal-ridden, which he’s not — that means he has the best chance anyone in the state ever could to beat a Kennedy, even if he is the favorite for now.

What I would do instead is wait to see if Warren wins the White House — if she does, there will be a special election to fill her seat. He could run then. If she doesn’t, Charlie Baker will be term-limited in 2022 — run for the Governor’s Mansion, which is likely to flip to the Dems that year anyway, especially with a Kennedy running. Then, in 2026, Markey will be 80 years old and probably much more willing to retire. THEN you can run for his open seat if you still want to, or just run for governor again if not.

Plus if he did all that, in 2032, Kennedy would have 10 years of House experience, 4 years of gubernatorial experience, and 6 years of Senate experience. Impressive resume for a presidential candidate — if an eligible Democratic incumbent is not President that year (likely if a Democrat wins in 2020 or 2024 and is a two-termer), he would likely be a strong candidate to run and still only be 50.