LAWRENCE, MASS. (WHDH) - The primary race is heating up in Massachusetts as U.S. Sen. Ed Markey and Congressman Joe Kennedy III get ready for a showdown.
Markey said he is not rattled by the competition at a community discussion in Lawrence.
“I said to him ‘welcome to the campaign trail,” Markey said. “I’m looking forward to this debate over the next year.”
Sources told 7NEWS Congressman Kennedy will officially announce he is running for senate Saturday at a breakfast event in East Boston.
In spite of this, Markey hopes to hold onto his seat for another term and do the work he believes matters most.
“I have been fighting for the people of the Commonwealth,” he said. “That’s the issue of climate change, of income inequality, immigration rights, gun safety laws, health care and educational opportunities for everyone.”
Democratic political consultant Michael Goldman said the incumbent senator has to prove to voters that he deserves another term.
While the challenger needs to explain how he will make a difference.
“Races come down to three things: Does the candidate understand the problems of people like me? Do they care about the problems of people like me and what can they do for me,” Goldman said.
Poll numbers have placed Kennedy in the lead but, some think his family name may work against him.
“Joe Kennedy has a particularly hard time capitalizing on this political moment where primaries are OK and longterm Washington types have targets on their back,” Erin O’Brien, associate professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Boston said.
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