Markey has been in various office for decades, but not as a Senator. And if Kennedy doesn’t have his eye on a bigger prize, isn’t his plan to be there for 30-40 years?
I don’t care what office a person has in DC, 12 years in DC is plenty. Get rid of the fossils and get some new blood. My prior Congress NC district guy is a Dem and has been there since 86 and no plans to retire. They gerrymandered his district to put a lot of Dems in it. He does not even bother to campaign. He normally gets 55 to 60 percent with no campaigning . His district being so Dem heavy means all the other close districts are much more GOP.
Washington said 8 years as president was enough and everyone else who served also only had 2 terms. then FDR came along and said screw that. Of course then they added the ammendent to limit the prez to 2 terms.
Because Markey has a proven track record, gets results, and is in sync with his constituency. I personally voted for him because he’s a good senator and I want him to continue serving our state and the country.
Kennedy just conceded.
There’s nothing inherently virtuous about “new blood” or contemptible about having decades in office. If there’s one thing that recent Democratic primaries are showing its that voters seem to have a pretty good sense of incumbents who have genuinely lost touch with their districts (Eliot Engel, Daniel Lipinski) and those who still align with their constituents like Markey.
Vigorous primary challenges like this one are very healthy for the party, IMO. Maybe even vital for the party. Incumbents need practice and political workouts, and it also gives us the chance to evaluate new blood and identify potential future superstar talents (like, maybe, AOC). Good for Markey, and good for Kennedy for giving him a workout.
And Kennedy’s young. I suspect he’ll be back.
Joe Kennedy gave up his House seat to run in this Senate race, but the good news is that it looks like the seat (the Massachusetts fourth congressional district) is staying in the family, sort of. Jake Auchincloss won the Democratic primary and if his last name sounds familiar, that’s because he’s related to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Gore Vidal.