Joe Kennedy III has no good reason to primary Ed Markey except vanity
by Tom Joyce
| September 19, 2019 11:54 AM
Rep. Joe Kennedy III (who is, unsurprisingly given his family, a Democrat from Massachusetts) is expected on Saturday to formally announce his Senate primary challenge against Ed Markey at an event in East Boston.
Kennedy, 38, hopes to unseat the 73-year-old Markey, who was a member of the House of Representatives from 1976 to 2014 and a senator since then. Even if Kennedy wins the primary on the back of his name recognition and moves on to become Massachusetts' next junior senator, he has no business even being in the race.
Markey and Kennedy both hail from the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. On policy, there are no major differences between the two. They both support "Medicare for all," the Green New Deal, a $15 federal minimum wage, and impeaching President Trump. Like every other liberal, the two hold extreme pro-abortion views that are not in line with the general public.
A primary would make sense if it came from a moderate-to-conservative Democrat concerned about the party's drift leftward alienating moderates. But Kennedy himself is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, alongside "the squad."
The two big differences between these candidates are style and their last names. Although Markey is among the longest-tenured member of Congress, he maintains a low-profile, as Boston Magazine points out.
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