The Massachusetts Teachers Association and the National Education Association announced somewhat surprisingly today that they are recommending Congressman Ed Markey in the Democratic primary in the special election to replace Secretary of State John Kerry in the US Senate. Quoted in the MTA's press release, MTA president Paul Toner said:
“Congressman Markey has been a strong and effective advocate for public education and the rights of working men and women,” said MTA President Paul Toner. “He knows how to get things done. He is intelligent, hard-working and principled. If Ed Markey is elected, we are confident he will fight as hard for students and public education in the U.S. Senate as he has done in the House.”
Markey's major opponent in the primary is Congressman Stephen Lynch, best known on Daily Kos for his vote
against the Affordable Care Act, and Markey is generally considered by political observers in Massachusetts to be the more progressive of the two candidates. Lynch, a former steelworker and president of the steelworkers local union, has strong labor support, but his more conservative positions on guns, abortion and healthcare
has eroded some of that support.
Two Republicans have declared their candidacy in the race, but a repeat of the 2010 special election, in which Scott Brown took the Democratic establishment by surprise, is considered unlikely. The winner of the Democratic primary will most likely be the next Senator from Massachusetts, and with the endorsement from the 110,000 member MTA Markey's chances of winning just improved measurably.