Edward M. Kennedy Jr. will not run for US Senate in Massachusetts

Source: Edward M. Kennedy Jr. will not run for US Senate in Massachusetts

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Edward M. Kennedy Jr. will not run for US Senate in Massachusetts, according to a source familiar with Kennedy’s decision.

Kennedy decided against a run for three reasons, the source said. He does not want to uproot his family; he doesn’t feel right about moving from Connecticut to Massachusetts to run; and officials in Connecticut have urged him to stay there and run there eventually.

The person familiar with his decision said that the 51-year-old Kennedy was in no way ruling out a future run for public office. In fact, he hopes to run for office in Connecticut someday, the source said.

Kennedy, president of a financial firm and a leading advocate for disability rights, is the son of the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the liberal lion of the Senate who served for more than four decades before dying in 2009.

Edward M. Kennedy Jr.’s name had been mentioned as a possible candidate in the special election that will be held if US Senator John F. Kerry is confirmed as secretary of state.

Kennedy had been approached by leading Democrats and was giving serious consideration to a run, according to his brother, former US representative Patrick Kennedy, the Globe reported in Sunday’s editions.

Edward M. Kennedy Jr. lives in Connecticut but also owns a house at the Kennedy compound in Hyannisport.

Massachusetts Democrats are worried that Republican US Senator Scott Brown may have a good chance of winning the special election.

Brown won a special election in 2010 to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Edward M. Kennedy. But he failed to win reelection this fall, losing to Harvard professor Elizabeth Warren. Now he may be looking to try to win the state's other Senate seat.

Edward M. Kennedy Jr. would have benefited from being part of a legendary political family. And his physical appearance and speech resemble his father’s, which might awaken loyalties in Massachusetts voters, the Globe reported.

His decision not to pursue the office leaves the field open for other Democrats. US Representatives Edward Markey of Malden, Michael Capuano of Somerville, and Stephen Lynch of South Boston have already signaled they are thinking about running.

http://www.boston.com/metrodesk/2012/12/24/source-edward-kennedy-will-not-run-for-senate-massachusetts/zdMpLwaoIGaDAXUjVHWYkO/story.html

Oh how heartbreaking lol

W

What a shame! Massachusetts deserves him!

Good, as a country we have had too many political dynasties and their agendas.

Ben Affleck won't run for U.S. Senate after all

4:27 PM, December 25, 2012

http://cmsimg.freep.com/apps/pbcsi.d...nate-after-all

Sen. John Kerry D-Mass speak with actor Ben Affleck during a meeting with foreign relations members to discus the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo at Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012. / AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

By the Associated Press

BOSTON — Ben Affleck is taking his name off the list of possible candidates for U.S. Sen. John Kerry’s seat, which would be open if the Democratic senator from Massachusetts is confirmed as secretary of state.

Affleck says in a Monday posting on his Facebook page that while he loves the political process, he will not be running for public office.

Speculation about the Cambridge, Mass., native rose slightly when he did not completely rule out a Senate bid during an appearance on CBS’ Face The Nation on Sunday.

In his Facebook posting, Affleck says he would continue working with the Eastern Congo Initiative, a nonprofit organization that helps direct humanitarian aid to the war-torn region, and for other causes.

Affleck says Kerry would make a great secretary of state.

http://www.freep.com/article/20121225/ENT07/121225017/ben-affleckl-u-s-senate-candidate