President Obama's nomination of Democrat John Kerry to be secretary of state sets off a chain of events that could put another Kennedy in the Senate, at least on an interim basis.
And it gives ousted Republican Scott Brown a fighting chance of returning to the Senate by midyear.
On Friday, Obama nominated Kerry, the senior senator from Massachusetts, to replace Hillary Clinton as the nation's chief diplomat. A 27-year veteran of the Senate and chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Kerry should win easy Senate confirmation early in the new year.
Brown, the junior senator from Massachusetts, won a 2010 special election after the death of Sen. Edward Kennedy, and then in November lost his bid for a full term to Democrat Elizabeth Warren. He leaves office Jan. 3.
Brown has not announced his interest in the upcoming special election, but in a farewell to Senate colleagues last week, he pointedly called it "my closing floor speech for this session in the United States Senate." And The New York Times called his candidacy a "foregone conclusion," that his popularity would likely preclude serious GOP opposition in the solidly blue state.
A , Boston's NPR news station, found high favorability ratings for Brown, a moderate who was the first Senate Republican to back a renewed assault weapons ban after the Connecticut school shootings.
requires Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick to appoint an interim successor to Kerry and then to hold a special election between 145 and 160 days after the vacancy is created. explains:
"A special election for the Kerry seat would likely occur in May or June. ... A vacancy is deemed to occur once the departing senator files a letter of resignation, even if the resignation is not effective until a later date.
"It is not clear if Mr. Kerry will submit such a letter right away or if he will wait until he is confirmed by the Senate. Even Republicans have said that Mr. Kerry would sail through the confirmation process."
The , conducted by MassINC Polling Group, pitted Brown against several potential Democratic opponents in a special election, and he handily beat them all: Brown led state Attorney General Martha Coakley, whom he defeated in 2010, by 15 percentage points; Rep. Ed Markey by 18 points; Rep. Mike Capuano by 19 points; former Rep. Marty Meehan, now the chancellor of the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, by 19 points; and Rep. Stephen Lynch by 27 percentage points.
He led Gov. Patrick himself by only 7 percentage points, but there is no indication the governor would consider seeking the post.
:
"Others mentioned included Victoria Kennedy, Senator Edward M. Kennedy's widow, and Edward Kennedy Jr., the late senator's son, who lives in Connecticut. But because there is no clear front-runner, others may emerge. Even Ben Affleck, the Hollywood actor, has been floated."
After Kennedy's death, Patrick appointed an interim successor who vowed not to run for the seat, a tactic he would like to follow again, the governor said Friday. "I expect to appoint someone who does not plan to run for the seat," , according to Masslive.com. "I have had a number of conversations and there's some pretty compelling candidates. Remember it is a four- or five-month assignment."
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