Rep. Barney Frank (D)
In case you missed it—though you probably didn't—in a major shocker, veteran Democratic Rep. Barney Frank
announced his retirement on Monday. Frank in particular pointed to
redistricting as one of his chief reasons for not seeking reelection. But while his district shed the Democratic stronghold of New Bedford and gained some conservative towns, the seat is still indisputably blue, so it's still a surprising catalyst, especially for someone who seemed to love his job as much as Frank did. In the end, though, Frank is 71 years old, and he also said he didn't want to endure the rigors of yet another campaign, which you certainly can't blame him for.
Immediately, of course, attention became focused on possible successors, and a ton of potential candidates have already surfaced, mostly on the Democratic side. Culled from a variety of sources (Roll Call | AP | Politico | CBS | Hotline), here's our most complete list, though note that some of these folks have expressed active interest while others are just in the "possible" category:
Democrats:
Cynthia Creem (state senator)
Deborah Goldberg (former Brookline Board of Selectmen Chair)
Alan Khazei (City Year co-founder)
Jesse Mermell (Brookline selectwoman)
Marc Pacheco (state senator)
Mike Rodrigues (state senator)
James Segel (former state representative & former Frank aide)
David Simas (former advisor to Gov. Deval Patrick)
Sam Sutter (Bristol County district attorney)
James Timilty (state senator)
James Vallee (state representative)
Republicans:
Jay Barrows (state representative)
Sean Bielat (2010 nominee)
Brian Herr (former Hopkinton selectman)
One Republican is already in the race: former state mental health commissioner Elizabeth Childs, who announced her candidacy before Frank said he'd retire. A few people have also said they won't run, including two Democrats, Newton Mayor Setti Warren and State Treasurer Steve Grossman, and one Republican, State Rep. Dan Winslow.
On a much more speculative level, there's also Joseph P. Kennedy III, son of ex-Rep. Joe Kennedy and grandson of Bobby Kennedy. Kennedy, a prosecutor in the region known as the Cape & Islands, was talked up as a possible successor to former Rep. Bill Delahunt after he announced his retirement last year, but he declined to run. Kennedy doesn't live in the new 4th and would pretty clearly have to carpetbag, but obviously his family name precedes him.
And here's another idea that's even more unlikely: Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, who has been active in Republican politics for many years. The problem with this idea is that it's pure fantasy (inside) baseball, and what's more, Schilling very publicly left Massachusetts because the state of Rhode Island promised greater support for his video game company.
Ultimately, while the GOP has pledged to contest this seat, and while they can probably force Democrats to spend money here they might otherwise have been able to deploy elsewhere, Team Blue is strongly favored here.
One other interesting tidbit: Wondering who's next in line (at least on paper) to take over Frank's #1 slot on the Financial Services committee? Maxine Waters!