Kennedy couldn’t match him as iconic family suffers first ever loss in MA election
By JOSH RESNEK
As many Massachusetts voters went to bed Tuesday evening, Senator Ed Markey celebrated a hard fought victory over Congressman Joseph Kennedy.
Shortly before 10:30 p.m., with almost 35% of the state’s precincts reporting, Markey led Kennedy by almost 50,000 votes, considered a fairly insurmountable lead.
Then came Kennedy’s concession to Markey shortly before 10:30 p.m.
In that moment, a dynasty might have ended, as Kennedy will not be running for Congress next time around.
In Everett balloting, Markey defeated Kennedy by a 3109-2721 margin.
Except for Ward 3-1, Markey beat Kennedy in every ward and precinct in the city.
If Markey’s lead holds and expands as it is expected to, he makes history in a very big way defeating one of the best and brightest of the Kennedy’s to come down the line in quite a while.
Markey, who has been in public office for 43 years was the clear underdog when Kennedy announced about six months ago that he was taking on the senator.
This was a Titanic win for Markey who never lost his compass battling Kennedy and who showed what he is made of until the last day of campaigning.
When the history of the United States is written from this era, Markey’s place in it just took on a bigger space as the politician who beat a Kennedy at his own game.
In victory, Markey showed magnanimity.
In defeat, Kennedy showed magnanimity.
These two are not your run of the mill political hacks.
Kennedy’s audacious move in the current hot political climate, with Democrats fighting Republicans and Democrats fighting among themselves, was doomed to failure.
Kennedy was unable to beat Markey at his own game, that of the tried and true liberal who always remained loyal to the voters of this state and
who acted with class and style with never a moment of scandal in 43 years of political service.
Markey proved to be the old time, humble, much beloved loyalist progressive Democrat from Malden who whipped Kennedy, a much younger man of privilege with a Harvard education and a political heritage quite like no other in America today.
Since John F. Kennedy came onto the scene in the early 1950’s, no Kennedy has ever lost a political race in Massachusetts.
In fact, the Kennedy’s lock on the hearts and souls of Massachusetts voters has seemed unbreakable – until this race pitting Markey versus the younger man of wealth and privilege, Kennedy.
Kennedy brought to the race a very handsome and youthful persona and almost a decade of strong service in the Congress. Mainly, he pitted the Kennedy name and reputation, the Kennedy legacy and role in Massachusetts politics against Markey.
In the end, it didn’t work on the voters of Massachusetts.
Markey has won a victory not many could imagine happening six months ago when Kennedy announced.
Markey becomes like a king having defeated so powerful a prince.
What a thing for Ed Markey.