story on Markey plans to run for Sen. Kerry's senate seat

[MBS]

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/12/27/rep-markey-run-senate-special-election/dEJDbwYFYhYXPiPYbOmwaI/story.html?camp=newsletter

Some excerpts that offer some more detail than other stories I've seen:

Running in a special election is a low-risk venture for House incumbents. If they lose, they would still be members of Congress and be able to run for reelection as favored incumbents in 2014. State Senator Benjamin B. Downing, a Pittsfield Democrat, is expected to announce next week that he is forming an exploratory committee for a possible Senate run.. . . Markey declined to be interviewed, and he plans a formal campaign announcement in January. The longtime congressman sees the Senate as a better opportunity while the GOP controls the House of Representatives, according to someone close to Markey but not authorized to speak on his behalf.
. . .
Philip W. Johnston, a former chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party who remains a key party operative, endorsed Markey Thursday and said he hopes Democrats can “avoid an expensive, ­divisive primary.”Markey begins the race with about $3.1 million in his campaign account, a “really nice fund-raising lead” that may give pause to other prominent Democrats considering a run, said Stonehill College polit­ical scientist Peter Ubertaccio. Capuano had about $491,000 in campaign cash on hand in late November; Lynch had $740,000, according to the Center for ­Responsive Politics.“Congressman Capuano wishes Congressman Markey well,” Capuano spokeswoman Alison Mills wrote in an e-mail. “He will make a decision in the coming days.” Lynch, in a statement, said, “While I am giving serious thought to running for the US Senate and have received great encouragement, at this point I am still focused on my job as a congressman . . .
. . .

The Globe reported last week that Markey had conducted a private poll testing his position in a hypo­thetical match-up with Brown. The pollster asked about Markey’s perceived strengths, such as his work on clean energy legislation and his opposition to Bush-era tax cuts. The poll also asked about poten­tial vulnerabilities, such as Markey’s votes on tax increases and whether the congressman has spent too much time in Washington. The results were not made public.
Markey’s spirited announcement statement signaled that he is prepared for a hard-swinging campaign and is ready to defend several traditional liberal positions.. ..

John Rosenthal, founder and chairman of the group Stop Handgun Violence, said he has known Markey for years and declared “there is nobody better to take a leadership role on passing effective ­national gun violence laws than Ed.” . . .Scott Nathan, chairman of the League of Conservation Voters, said Thursday that he was thrilled to back Markey, whom he called “a champion fighting for the clean-energy economy.” Markey is a graduate of ­Boston College and Boston College Law School and a veteran of the US Army Reserve. He ­announced a run for US Senate in 1984, but withdrew from the race before the primary. Kerry won that seat and has held it since. . .

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

1. To those from MA: How popular and well known is Markey at the state level?

I know that he has served his district well and is very popular and well respected. But is he well known at the state level?

[polmaven]

2. He is fairly well known in the area

immediately surrounding his district in Middlesex County, but as you go further away, not as much. Except, of course, to the politically minded among us. I am in a different (nearby) County, and know about him fairly well.

He is, however, probably more well known that was Senator elect Warren when she began her campaign.

I think Ed Markey knows how to run a good campaign, and I think he would stand a better than average chance of winning over Scott Brown.

[Mass]

3. Better known than Warren was or that Brown was in 2010.

[NewJeffCT]

4. Concern about Markey

He's been in Congress since 1976 and has never had a competitive race in all that time. About half the time he's been unopposed, and the other half, his opponent has never gotten more than a whopping 36% of the vote.

If he's up against Brown, Brown has been through two tough, hard-fought races in a span of three years. How wold Markey handle a tough statewide race?

Not sure about Mass, but I know in Connecticut when we ran popular, but never challenged, Congresswoman Barbara Kennelly she got swamped because she'd never been in a tough race in her life. While CT is not as blue as Mass, it's still pretty blue overall. (And, in 1990, popular Democratic Congressman Bruce Morrison came in third, behind Indy Lowell Weicker and Republican John Rowland.)

[TwilightGardener]

6. In Congress since 1976?? Holy carp.

[MBS]

5. Charlie Pierce weighs in on Markey (and Brown)

incisive and funny, per usual

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/massachusetts-senate-race-122812

. . .Congressman Edward Markey has announced that he's in, and good for him. There are other members of the delegation making noises -- notably Steve Lynch and Michael Capuano -- and I wish to god they weren't. Lynch is a pro-life Democrat from South Boston who loses his appeal 14 degrees west of M Street. Capuano already has lost a primary for the U.S. Senate to Martha Coakley, and we all know how that worked out. A lot of the less well-known candidates may be holding back in anticipation of running for governor when Deval Patrick leaves office in a few years. (Keep an eye on U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz on that one.) If the DSCC has any influence up here at all, they'll defuse the whole idea of a primary right now. There is no reason for one, and every reason not to have one.
. . .in his announcement, nicely timed on a slow news day, Markey came out swinging.
. . .
It is anticipated that the Republican nominee will be soon-to-be-former senator Scott Brown. This has been the subject of some hilarious nightsweats on the part of pundits from outside the state as to Senator McDreamy's formidability. He's certainly still convinced of his own world-historical status. In his farewell address in the Senate, he joked about seeing people soon. And then, earlier this week, possibly after extensive consultation from various kings and queens, he threw up a post on Facebook announcing that he was going back to Washington to work on a "deal" that the president had proposed. There was, alas, no deal of any sort for him to study. This was at the root of why he tangled himself up so badly in losing to Elizabeth Warren. The man really bought all the punditastic stroking that he got after his fluke win over Coakley about how he was a pivotal figure in a new American political age. He spent most of the early part of his re-election campaign massaging his own ego, and acting as though the very fact of Warren's challenging him was an affront to history. That's why he fell so easily onto the cheap, nasty, and ultimately futile campaign that not only was unsuccessful, but also severely damaged his good-guy centrist brand, perhaps beyond repair.

Read more: Massachusetts Senate Race - The Return of Scott Brown - Esquire http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/massachusetts-senate-race-122812#ixzz2GNsHPPxL

[Cha]

7. You had me at Charlie Pierce! Thanks MBS..

"And then, earlier this week, possibly after extensive consultation from various kings and queens, he threw up a post on Facebook announcing that he was going back to Washington to work on a "deal" that the president had proposed. There was, alas, no deal of any sort for him to study. This was at the root of why he tangled himself up so badly in losing to Elizabeth Warren."

I see Brown is still full of it.


I just heard from my cyberbud in MA who asked if I had heard that.. "President Obama, AND First Lady Obama have made a commitment to come and work for the campaign of Kerry's successor - WOOHOOOO!!!! THAT is how VITAL this race is to be. Kerry has been our own Senator for a very long and history-laden time."

[Cha]

8. Thank you for the article with

more hitherto unreported news on Markey!

[Mass]

9. Ed Markey's campaign website

http://www.edmarkey.org/

[NPolitics1979]

10. Next Congressional Session-Markey would be the 8th Senior member of the US House after

Dingell-MI,Conyers-MI,Rangel-NY,Young-FL,Young-AK,Miller-CA,and Waxman-CA.
US Senators that have more Congressional Experience than Markey is Leahy-VT,Baucus-MT,Cochran-MS,Grassley-IA,and Harkin-IA.
During his 36 year Congressional career especially in the 1990s and 2000's-Markey co-sponsored a lot of important legislations.

[davidpdx]

11. I don't know much about him

I just hope he is ready to run a strong campaign. We don't need another lightweight running who doesn't want to win.

[Justice]

12. Real concern about Markey being able to win

[frazzled]

13. He was my Congressman

for the 5 years I lived in his district. He's a nice guy; he earned his rep during the anti-nuclear-energy movement of the 1980s. I'm not sure how people in, say, Worcester, would perceive him. Massachusetts is less reliably "liberal" than people imagine it to be.

I have only one remembrance of him. I can't remember the occasion for sure--I think it was a rally for the governor's race (the one Romney would end up winning) on the square in my town, and he came to give the main speech to juice up the crowd for Shannon O'Brien, who needed a little help, to say the least. At any rate, this was in the fall, shortly after the Iraq War Resolution vote, and the crowd of several hundred went crazy, hissing and booing, and yelling at him for having voted for it. (I lived in a very progressive town.) He was turning white as a sheet. It was really kind of awful. So after he finished, he was standing on the side and looking really shaken. And since I was kind of near him, I walked over and said, "I'm sorry that was so boisterous, but you have to understand how angry people here are about this." He replied something to the effect that, don't worry, he "got it." It was really interesting.

I hope there is no primary fight, and of course I hope he wins. I have no predictions, however.