Some good news today out of Massachusetts:
Click here to read the full results.
Past polling showed Kennedy pulling ahead of Markey and out raising him in fundraising. Both Markey and Kennedy have been racking up endorsements:
Per tradition over here at Boston, the usual disclaimer: Endorsements tell only part of the story in a campaign, but they do show where allegiances lie, and help candidates define themselves in concrete terms by the company they keep. In the particularly heated race between Ed Markey and Joe Kennedy III for Markey’s Senate seat, endorsements have become especially valuable, and controversial.
For Markey, earning support from the likes of Elizabeth Warren helps him identify himself as the more progressive candidate in the contest, while emphasizing his ties to 30-year-old Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and co-authorship of the Green New Deal helps deflate the pitch from Kennedy that the incumbent is too old and entrenched to represent the interests of young voters.
Kennedy, meanwhile, has some fairly prominent colleagues in Congress along for the primary ride, most notably John Lewis, the late civil rights icon and congressman, and Rep. Joaquin Castro, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
And AOC might be the one who helps Markey get over the finish line on September 1st:
Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.) has premised his primary challenge to Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) on an argument about generational change. The 39-year-old Kennedy, the grandson of RFK and grandnephew of JFK, said he was in the “fight of my generation” in his race against the 74-year-old Markey, who has served in Congress since the bicentennial.
But on Thursday, the Boomer incumbent got an assist from the quintessential millennial lawmaker, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who appeared in a new advertisement on Markey’s behalf. Her argument: The generational change progressives are looking for is as much about one’s ideas as their age.
The ad features Ocasio-Cortez talking straight to the camera as she touts Markey’s record as an original cosponsor of Medicare for All and his work on the Green New Deal, which Markey and AOC co-wrote. “When it comes to progressive leadership, it’s not your age that counts, its the age of your ideas,” Ocasio-Cortez says.
I like and respect both Markey and Kennedy but I’m sticking with Markey in this race. Click here to donate and get involved with Markey’s re-election campaign.