In Mass., Ed Markey is Primed to do the Impossible - Beat a Kennedy
Photo Credit: Senate Democrats / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)
By: Logan Phillips
Date: 8/26
Just under a year ago, Senator Ed Markey from Massachusetts looked like the unluckiest politician in America. Joseph Kennedy III, a direct descendant of the beloved former President and a sitting U.S. Representative, decided to challenge Markey for his seat in the Democratic Primary. Arguably, the Kennedy family is the single most powerful political dynasty in Democratic politics, and remains active in American politics even well into the 21st century.
The political obituaries for Ed Markey’s career were already starting to be written. It’s rare for an incumbent Senator to be considered such an underdog, but the Kennedys have never been beaten in the Bay State since former the President, John F. Kennedy himself, first ran for the House of Representatives in 1946. Markey looked particularly vulnerable - he had far less name recognition then his fellow Senator Elizabeth Warren, and he didn’t have her knack for grassroots small-dollar donor fundraising.
Mass. Democratic Senate Primary Projections
In early 2020, Markey had held Kennedy to only a one-point lead, but the Congressman rocketed ahead by eight percent lead by the time May came around. Now facing long odds of victory, Markey fully embraced the label of the scrappy underdog, running against the most powerful political machine in Massachusetts. He emphasized his roots - the son of a milk man and union organizer, this was hardly the first time he had been underestimated.
Markey put his work of working on liberal causes front and center - especially his record of working with progressive champion Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to introduce the Green New Deal back in 2019 - which helped garner him AOC’s enthusiastic endorsement. The messaging has paid huge dividends for Markey and made him the favorite of younger voters in the Bay State. One poll shows him up 59% to 32% with voters under the age of 45.
He’s also run one of the singles greatest campaign ads of the cycle, and the only Kennedy it alludes to is not his opponent Joseph, but the former President.” There’s an invisible contract,” Markey said in a voice over, “Every hour we work means longer days of freedom and security… but when crisis hit Trump’s government abandoned America. We asked what we could do for our country. They looked at what they could take. If you break the sacred contract the people make a revolution.”
After showcasing the historic protest across the nation, he faces the camera and says. “We asked what we could do for our country. We went out and did it. With all due respect, it’s time to start asking what your country can do for you.”
The full extent of the comeback is staggering. Once down eight, Markey has surged twenty points and is now ahead in the polls 51% to 40%. With less than a week till election day, the Race to the WH Forecast believes that he is the heavy favorite and has around an eight-five percent chance of winning the election. Many have already sent in their ballots, and those decided to vote in person will head to the polls this Tuesday on September first.
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