Progressives vs Establishment battle in MA Senate Primary

Election season has finally arrived post-convention’s and the polls are starting to tighten up. There are a number of Senate races in key battleground states like Michigan, Arizona, North Carolina, and Maine. But the current under the radar race is in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Senate Primary on September 1st is a face-off between incumbent Senator Ed Markey and US Rep. Joe Kennedy III.

The race for the Massachusetts Senate seat has entirely divided the Democratic Party. Progressives like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Elizabeth Warren have come behind Markey, the sponsor of the infamous Green New Deal bill. Meanwhile, Kennedy has gained the endorsements of many members of the House of Representatives including Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff. Senator Kyrsten Sinema has also come out in support of Kennedy over her colleague.

It has been over 11 years since the passing of Ted Kennedy who served in the US Senate for over 47 years. From 1952 when President John F. Kennedy was first elected to the Senate until 2009, a member of the Kennedy family had represented Massachusetts in the Senate. There is now energy behind Joe Kennedy III — the grandson of former NY Senator and Attorney General Robert Kennedy — to have a new Kennedy represent Massachusetts.

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Early on, Kennedy was the favorite but Markey has turned things around and taken the edge in polling. A poll released on Friday by Emerson gave the incumbent a 12 point lead just a few days before the primary.

But the race could go either way. The Kennedy name carries heavily in that area and in this current primary season, anything can go. We’ve seen seven members of Congress ousted already this year in primaries including long-time incumbents Eliot Engel and Daniel Lipinski. This race will certainly tell whether progressives or the democratic establishment are in control of the party.