FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2019 The Boston Globe The Region A
President Jimmy Carter in 1980
after the late Edward M. Ken-
nedy — the younger Kennedy’s
great-uncle — launched a pri-
mary challenge against him.
“I know how much animosi-
ty that created within the party
that lasted for years,” she said.
Kennedy remains unde-
terred, of course.
As he left the Capitol build-
ing Thursday afternoon, the
Newton Democrat confirmed
he was jumping in the race but
didn’t provide any details. “You
will hear an awful lot more
about everything on Saturday,”
Kennedy said. His House col-
leagues “have all been very sup-
portive,” he added.
Kennedy has endorsements
from a number of fellow federal
elected officials and will roll
those out after the Saturday an-
nouncement, said a person in-
volved in the campaign.
But he already has vocal sup-
porters on Capitol Hill.
“It’s entirely normal for
someone with Joe’s talent and
potential to seek more capacity
to do more great things,” said
Representative Sean Patrick
Maloney, a Democrat from New
York and close ally of Kennedy
in the House. “I think everybody
should just calm down and let
democracy work its will.”
Senator Kyrsten Sinema, an
Arizona Democrat, predicted a
Kennedy victory. “He’s dynam-
ic, smart, has vision, and gets
things done. That’s exactly
what our country needs right
now,” she said by text message.
She added that “most people
are staying quiet [because]
that’s how D.C. goes.”
In Massachusetts, the an-
nouncement amplified the dis-
tress major donors and party
operatives felt when they first
learned last month that Kenne-
dy might jump into the race.
Many are close to both Markey
and the Kennedys, and are
pained about having to take
sides.
“I love them both,” said Rep-
resentative Richard E. Neal,
uKENNEDY
Continued from Page A
who has endorsed Markey like
the majority of the delegation.
“I think we’re all pretty loyal
and good friends, and these are
longstanding friendships.”
Several Democratic insiders
said they expect big donors to
give to both candidates. Some
deliberately wrote checks to
both Markey and Kennedy
ahead of the younger Democrat’s
decision so they could max out
to both without having to choose
sides, said one Democratic oper-
ative with Massachusetts ties.
Prominent Democrats, such
as former representative Bar-
ney Frank, have raised concerns
that the divisive Senate primary
— plus the huge field of candi-
dates that appears to be form-
ing to compete for Kennedy’s
Fourth District House seat —
will suck resources and atten-
tion from more crucial races
around the country. And pri-
vately, some Democrats view
Kennedy’s move as cold-blood-
ed ambition that could kill the
career of a well-respected law-
maker, namely Edward J. Mar-
key.
Still,otherpoliticosgreeted
Kennedy’s entrance with excite-ment because of the energy the
race would inject into the state.
The unfolding primary brawl
for Senate will likely juice voter
enthusiasm and turnout, and
could lead to unexpected out-
comes down the ballot, some
strategists mused.
Whether Markey or Kennedy,
“Will we end up with an amaz-
ing Democratic US senator at the
end of the day? Yeah. And proba-
bly one that’s really clearly de-
fined” on the issues, said Demo-
cratic consultant Dan Cence.
“That’s never a bad thing.”
Some unlikely politicos got
in on the action Thursday. “I’m
for Kennedy,” former Massa-
chusetts governor Bill Weld,
who is running against Presi-
dent Trump for the GOP nomi-
nation, told Washington Post
reporters. “I’ve known him
since the day he was born.”
The Republican added that
his wasn’t an endorsement
Kennedy was seeking.
Markey has already buttoned
up many endorsements from
elected officials — 120 from the
state Legislature — and key
groups in the state. But not ev-
eryone. At least one major union,the IBEW Local 103, which has
about 10,000 members, plans to
endorse Kennedy, said business
manager Lou Antonellis.
He said not to count out
Kennedy for other union en-
dorsements, either: “He’ll do
fine, I’m sure.”
High-profile Massachusetts
Democrats who haven’t picked
a side yet seemed determined
to stay neutral.
“I’ll be upfront with you, I
am not going to get involved in
this one,” said state Attorney
General Maura Healey during
an interview on WGBH radio.
Other key officials declining
to weigh in on the race include
Kennedy’s House colleagues
Katherine Clark, Seth Moulton,
and Ayanna Pressley. Notably,
Moulton and Pressley both won
their seats after beating incum-
bents.
Environmental activists,
many of whom are lined up be-
hind Markey, emphasized their
support.
“Ed Markey, as the coauthor
of the Green New Deal, is argu-
ably the strongest environmen-
tal champion in the Senate,”
said Deb Pasternak, chapter di-rector of the Massachusetts Si-
erra Club, which has endorsed
Markey. “We’re going to work to
keep him there.”
Markey’s long environmen-
tal record is a key element of his
support among some Massa-
chusetts Democrats and is like-
ly to play a major role in the
coming campaign.
The Malden Democrat su-
perchargedhisenvironmental
credentials earlier this year
when he teamed up with Repre-sentative Alexandria Ocasio-
Cortez of New York, a 29-year-
old icon of the left, to introduce
the Green New Deal to tackle
climate change. She recently
endorsed him.
“I’m not one to say that Joe
should not run in this race,” Oc-
asio-Cortez said on Capitol Hill
Thursday. “But I believe that
Senator Markey, he is neces-
sary....Ifhe’snotthere,weare
not going to have very critical,
deeply vested expertise and
leadership to take us forward.”
Markey, for his part, spoke
to reporters in Lawrence Thurs-
day evening.
He stressed his connection
to Ocasio-Cortez, mentioning
her twice,
“Congresswoman Alexan-
dria Ocasio-Cortez said today I
am the generational change
that America needs. I fight for
the issues that need to be
fought,” Markey said.
He also recounted the meet-
ing with Kennedy on Wednes-
day when the congressman
broke the news of his run.
“I said to him, welcome to
the campaign trail,” Markey
said.Zoe Greenberg and Jim
Puzzanghera of the Globe staff
contributed to this report.
Victoria McGrane can be
reached at victoria.mcgrane@
globe.com. Follow her on
Twitter @vgmac.DemocratsareallovertheplaceonKennedy’srun
JONATHAN WIGGS/GLOBE STAFF
Representative Joseph P. Kennedy lll said his House
colleagues “have all been very supportive.”JIM DAVIS/GLOBE STAFF
Senator Edward J. Markey arrived Thursday for a
community discussion of economic issues in Lawrence.DONATEYOURCAR
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