Report: Ted Kennedy Jr. won't run for Mass. Senate
Ted Kennedy, Jr., the son of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., won't run for a soon-to-be open Senate seat in Massachusetts, the Boston Globe reports, citing a source familiar with Kennedy's decision.
The 51-year-old Kennedy, the president of a financial firm, decided against running because he doesn't want to move his family from Connecticut, he doesn't feel right about moving to Massachusetts for a political run and because Connecticut officials have asked him to stay an eventually run for office there, something he's reportedly interesting in doing, according to the Globe.
The Massachusetts Senate seat in question is currently held by Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who was nominated by President Obama last week to be his next Secretary of State. Once Kerry is confirmed for his new position and he resigns from the Senate, Gov. Deval Patrick, D-Mass., will appoint an interim senator until a special election is held, 145 to 160 days after Kerry's resignation.
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Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., who gives up his seat next week after having lost to Democrat Elizabeth Warren on Election Day, is widely believed to be interested in running in the special election. Democrats reportedly interested include Reps. Ed Markey, Stephen Lynch and Michael Capuano, as well as former Rep. Marty Meehan.
Actor Ben Affleck has also been mentioned as a potential candidate and when asked by CBS' Bob Schieffer about his interest, he didn't close the door on a possible run.
"Well, one never knows," he explained. "I'm not one to get into conjecture. I do have a great fondness and admiration for the political process in this country, it's a big deal for me to come down here and be on your show that I've watched so much. But I'm not going to get into speculation about my political future.
In a poll released last week, Brown leads in hypothetical matchups with Markey, Capuano, Lynch and Meehan, by between 17 and 19 points.