MA-SEN Megathread: Senator Markey wins

[Brittain33]

Markey is a leader on environmental issues. He just hasn’t had the chance to serve in a majority for very long.

[Brittain33]

Markey is a leader on environmental issues. He just hasn’t had the chance to serve in a majority for very long.

Kennedy supports the GND

I'm sure he'd be just as good a Democrat as Markey, but I like that Markey has been particularly focused on the GND and actively leading. Any Democrat who would run for Senate in Mass would be an orthodox Dem. Even Steven Lynch isn't who he used to be.

[Brittain33]

Anyone who thinks Markey would win this doesn’t understand Massachusetts politics.

I like Markey but it doesn’t mean I think he’s favored in a primary. I just don’t like Kennedy primarying out a good guy who just arrived in the Senate because he can.

[Brittain33]

Either one is fine in different ways.

[Brittain33]

Either one is fine in different ways.

You aren't concerned at all by Kennedy's big pharma ties/anti-pot positions?

He’ll fall in line if it comes up. As far as donations from Pharma, it’s a big industry in the state, so it’s like beto and energy.

[Brittain33]

The Warren endorsement doesnt do any good no ways. The Jewish vote is going to Joe Kennedy, with the Kennedys so close to Israel... Thats why Biden and Kennedys are self sufficient in fundraising; as a result of, Jewish, AARP money, and Union donors

um... where are you going with this Jewish stuff?

[Brittain33]

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/11/joe-kennedy-ed-markey-challenge-1491098

A growing list of Democrats are becoming opposed to the idea of Kennedy challenging Markey. Chuck Schumer, along with Elizabeth Warren, Dick Durbin, Joe Manchin, and Jenne Shaheen are the most notable senate backers for Markey.

Kennedy also now has a senate backer, Kyrsten Sinema.

But generally, both the farthest Left of the party(AOC, Warren) and the farthest right of the party(Manchin) are uniting to support Markey.

I wonder why most Democrats are rallying in Markey's corner. Perhaps his decades of experience weighs upon them? And maybe some of them might have the same objections to the continuance of a moribund political dynasty, that many others have.

I think there's self-interest in discouraging challenges driven by ambition and youth the same way all European countries discourage secession movements, i.e. Spain is hostile to Scotland despite shared support for the EU because they worry about Catalonia. Plus they know and like him.

[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.

[Brittain33]

I’m guessing Kennedy’s polls show his risk of losing is quite low.

[Brittain33]

https://twitter.com/MEPFuller/status/1174752790549270531

You can't say that with a straight face. I mean, come on.

HAHAHAHAAH.

Again, this is a perspective driven by Markey's leadership on climate change. Yes, it's ironic because he's in his 70s. She's making the point through irony.

[Brittain33]

He likely sees this as the most attainable path to the Senate (and the national platform that comes with it) with the least amount of waiting involved.

Exactly. He sees an opportunity, his polls back it up, politicians who wait in office grow stale, and there's no guarantee in life that a future opportunity will materialize. So this is the time to strike, even though Markey is inoffensive and doing good.

[Brittain33]

LOL, what if Kennedy loses the primary to Markey, and then decides to run as a third party. Then there is a perfect vote split, and Shiva Ayyadurai squeaks through and wins, and gets a Republican pickup.
(Sore loser laws might not let that happen though)

I don’t know which is closer to zero, a Kennedy running as not a Democrat or Shiva winning any election, ever.

[Brittain33]

Kennedy's ads have arrived in force in my Facebook feed.

Markey fans are commenting on them.

[Brittain33]

I’ve been contacted by the Markey campaign twice this week, the second time after I’d said I was committed to him (but I’m not mad), and not yet by JKIII.

[Brittain33]

You know there's some version of this with The Dropkick Murphys' "Shipping up to Boston" in the background that got vetoed.

We're one election away from Matt Damon casting himself as Sen. Markey in a movie where he discovers a cure for COVID while delivering food boxes to a young widow in Southie.

[Brittain33]

It’s pathetic how much everyone on this thread is buying Markeys BS just because they’re anti-dynasty. Even if JK is likely to do more for Massachusetts. I’d say thank god my state is smarter than this thread but clearly from all indications they aren’t

I care about climate change and support the GND. Markey has made it his cause and I support him for that.

[Brittain33]

I'm tired of people acting like Kennedy is only running on his name.  He's been in Congress for eight years.

If he were running for an open seat against others, fine, I'd grant that, but you don't take on a decent and progressive incumbent like Markey in a primary unless you have a strong differentiator. Literally his only differentiators are his age and his name. It's certainly not any distinction in his Congressional service. And Markey served and excelled in the House a lot longer than Kennedy did.

P.S. I hate rose Twitter with a passion and usually don't support their candidates. This time, it's different.

[Brittain33]

It looks like turnout will be high. The secretary of State said that over a million people have already requested absentee ballots. Sorry I couldn't post the link. I would think that would benefit Kennedy?

It's misleading because the Secretary of State mailed out ballot request forms to everyone for the first time ever so it took little effort to request a ballot. In addition, the request allowed you to request both general and primary election ballots so people who may only care about the general, could request both and keep their options open. We'll see how many actually participate in the primary and send in their ballots. 

[Brittain33]

Hot take- Sanders not endorsing Markey is a positive. If we make this primary "Bernie vs moderates" we will lose

I think this could be true in the sense that Sanders wasn't that popular in the Boston suburbs in the 2016/2020 primaries, and Markey needs to do well in a good chunk of them to win the primary on September 1. Sanders' endorsement could hurt Markey in the suburbs and potentially drive some Warren-voting 2020 primary Democrats and Markey-supporting moderates in these areas to vote for Kennedy, potentially tipping the election to Kennedy altogether. Then again, I might be reading way too much into this lol.

I have to agree - I think Markey benefits from being the de facto Our Revolution candidate and getting their energy and endorsements without having to get the equivocal label of being Sanders's choice. That could easily hurt him more than help.

[Brittain33]

Markey has good outreach.  I've received text message + phone call from the Markey people, but nothing from Kennedy, who I voted for in mail-in.

I actually had to ask politely for the Markey campaign to opt me out after I was pinged for the third time and I'd already told them twice I turned in my ballot. Today I got a text from Indivisible asking the same thing. I guess they have a lot of volunteers texting.

[Brittain33]

The Kennedys know exactly what they're doing. "Mean tweets" is a dogwhistle for "he's too far left".

I support Markey as I've said but I'm unhappy that this bad behavior from certain extremely online people during the primary is carrying over to new campaigns. Ugh.

[Brittain33]

This thread is a cesspool.

Love that dirty water.

[Brittain33]

Assuming Kennedy loses, it obviously does hurt his political prospects

But he's only 39.

He could run for Governor in 2022.

He'd be steamrolled by Maura Healey in the primary.

[Brittain33]

Poor Kennedy. This is an ad by the Electrical Workers' union trying to support him. They have a giant Kennedy sign by their headquarters alongside I-93 in...

the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston.

Who wants to tell Kennedy that there's no such place as Worchester, MA?

https://twitter.com/JohnEWalsh14/status/1300089011499929600

[Brittain33]

Wow, Springfield flipped hard from Markey to Kennedy there.

Hmm? DDHQ has only 600 votes for Springfield.