UNITED STATES – This is the first time that a Kennedy has lost an election in Massachusetts: Joseph Kennedy III, grandnephew of President John F. Kennedy, admitted his defeat in the Democratic primary on Tuesday evening, September 1, for a position of senator of this New England state, compromising the future of the most famous of American political dynasties.
Joseph Kennedy, 39, conceded defeat, said one of his spokespersons, quoted by the Boston Globe. According to still partial results covering some 43% of the votes counted, he lost to outgoing senator Edward Markey, 74, by some 10 points.
This result, which the latest polls had anticipated, is bitter for Joseph Kennedy, who in 2019 was considered a rising star of the Democratic Party. And initially seemed on track to dethrone Edward Markey, elected from Congress for 44 years, including seven in the Senate.
Two men in close positions, but not the same supports
Elected to the House of Representatives in 2012, Joseph Kennedy III, grandson of the former justice minister Robert Kennedy assassinated in 1968, nevertheless presented himself as closer to the field, to modest families and to minorities than his septuagenarian rival. – so many arguments that have allowed young “progressive” activists to dethrone Congress barons in several Democratic primaries since 2018.
Joseph Kennedy, backed by Democratic congressional leader Nancy Pelosi, used to criticize Edward Markey for spending too much time in Washington. But his attacks did not seriously affect his rival, especially as the positions of the two men seemed very close.
Because Edward Markey was not one of those Democrats of the “establishment”, worried about the rise of the left wing of the Democratic Party, embodied by the New York elected representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
On the contrary, he had drafted with her the ambitious plan of an environmentalist “New Deal”, and had obtained her support for this primary, just like that of another progressive figure, the other senator from Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren. The septuagenarian even reversed the argument, presenting the young Kennedy as embodying the privileges of a family synonymous with power since 1947.
The family “has nothing to do with it”
Joseph Kennedy rejected these attacks. Again Tuesday, while he was campaigning shortly before the closing of the polling stations, he assured AFP that he would not feel any pressure related to his last name and his prestigious ancestors.
“Whenever I ran for office, I always said very clearly that there was only me on the ballot (…) My father, my grandfather, their brothers and sisters do have nothing to do with it, it’s just me, ”he said.
The result seems to finally prove that those who called his challenge to Edward Markey were futile. Many wondered why he was not content to continue his career in the House of Representatives, until perhaps the chair of Elizabeth Warren becomes available or to be able to run for governor of Massachusetts.
Massachusetts being a Democratic stronghold, Edward Markey is now virtually guaranteed to be re-elected to the Senate in November.
Succession assured for the Kennedys?
Is this the end of the Kennedy political dynasty?
It is not said: the recent Democratic convention has reignited speculation about the possibility that the grandson of the assassinated president, Jack Kennedy Schlossberg, will take up the torch.
The 27-year-old briefly appeared with his mother in a video calling to vote for Joe Biden saying, echoing a legendary line from his grandfather: “We can reach new frontiers, but only with a president who ask what he can do for our country ”.
Often asked about a possible political career, this young Harvard student, also very telegenic, has so far always refused to comment.
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See also on The HuffPost: “You might not know it but Jackie Kennedy was an early black rights activist”
