On Tuesday night, Rep. Joe Kennedy III failed in his bid to unseat incumbent Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey marking the first time a Kennedy has lost a race in the Bay State. Markey defeated Kennedy by a 10 point margin in the Democratic primary. Markey is widely expected to easily beat Republican candidate Kevin O'Connor in November.
While Kennedy started out as the favorite his campaign didn't have a raison d'etre while Markey found renewed purpose with his support of the Green New Deal and a key endorsement from AOC which led to a large following among young voters despite being 74 and having spent more than half of his life in Congress. Ads like the one below also helped Markey's cause. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's endorsement of Kennedy last month didn't do him any favors.
Does this mean the end of the Kennedy Dynasty? The truth is the Kennedy Dynasty has been in decline for years. This isn't to say Kennedy doesn't have a future somewhere. Perhaps he'll join his father at Citizens Energy, become a fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government or go into private practice. He will never have to worry about his next meal or meal ticket.
But the Kennedy name just doesn't have the same luster it once did. Ted Kennedy's son Patrick hasn't been in Congress for nearly 10 years and when he was he was best remembered for his problems with alcohol and drugs which seem to have receded since leaving D.C. I remember when Kennedy's uncle Max was due to run for Joe Moakley's old seat in South Boston after his death in 2001 but opted not to run after a handful of awkward public appearances. Stephen Lynch would succeed Moakley and has now held the seat for nearly 20 years. Nearly a decade later, Caroline Kennedy would decide against succeeding Hillary Clinton in the Senate after some awkward appearances of her own. While President Obama would later appoint Kennedy as his Ambassador to Japan, a diplomatic post isn't the same as being a Senator.
If the Kennedy Dynasty were to be revived in the political arena my bet would be on Caroline's son Jack Schlossberg following their joint appearance at last month's DNC. Voters are still a sucker for a handsome face. But this is probably several years away if at all.
At the moment the hour belongs to Ed Markey.
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