Minutes after he walked into the Democratic Party’s Ward 10 Caucus in the community center of the Mission Park housing development Feb. 22, Joe Kennedy III faced the question:
“I’m sure a lot of people in this room have the same question — I think you’re a great rep. — but why?” asked Ward 10 committee member Jim Farra. “Besides the fact of being young … why are you running?”
Kennedy’s response reiterated the two main points he’s been making in stump speeches and at last week’s debate: The three-term U.S. congressman has worked hard to support Democratic congressional candidates around the country, and the country needs new energy to face the challenges posed by President Trump and the Republican Party.
“I do believe that this moment is one of great consequence for our country, our party and our commonwealth,” he answered. “And I think if you believe that, then you’ve got to make sure you’re doing everything you can, you’re getting everything you possibly can out of this position. And I think that I can, in fact, bring more to it than we currently are getting out of that position.”
Sen. Ed Markey, whose efficacy Kennedy has been questioning, listed dozens of pieces of legislation he has authored and sponsored during his seven years in the Senate, which followed 37 years as a U.S. congressman. He drew applause from the crowd of Democratic activists when he singled out his bills banning robocalls and the $25 million he secured for research at the Centers for Disease Control on the causes of gun violence. He also cited $315 million dollars he secured for Alzheimer’s research and funding for universal flu vaccine research.
“That’s my December in the United States Senate,” he said, before he spoke about his vote on impeachment and his co-sponsorship with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of the Green New Deal resolution on climate change solutions.
“What she and I did last year has transformed the debate on climate change,” he said. “It’s catapulted it from an issue that was kind of fringe to top-three.”
The Mission Hill stop was one of several the candidates made Saturday in a push to secure the support of Democratic Party activists, many of whom were voted in as delegates to the June state convention, where they’ll vote on the party’s nominee for the senate race.
At the Ward 10 meeting, activists from the Mission Hill and Jamaica Plain neighborhoods sat on one side of the room, while campaign volunteers and supporters of the Senate candidates filled another. Suffolk County Register of Probate Felix D. Arroyo, state Rep. Nika Elugardo and City Councilors Kenzie Bok and Matt O’Malley attended the caucus, during which the party’s grassroots members vied for 21 seats at the convention.
Elugardo said the current political climate, which she characterized as a challenge to democracy, demands full participation from voters. She urged the party activists to engage with the electorate.
“Because of your efforts, we should maximize turnout in every precinct,” she said. “I want Massachusetts to stand out for voter turnout.”
O’Malley called the 2020 race “the most important presidential election of our lifetime.”
Because Massachusetts is a solidly-Democratic state whose popular and Electoral College votes will almost certainly go to the Democratic presidential nominee, the state’s voters can exert their greatest influence in the national political process with their March 3 Democratic primary vote for a presidential candidate and their Sept. 1 Democratic primary vote for the U.S. Senate candidate.
While Kennedy led Markey in early polls, he appeared to face a stiff headwind from the Ward 10 crowd.
The first and second questions the party activists pressed him on were his motives for running.
“Going around the country, flipping seats for the Democrats — that’s great,” said one Ward 10 woman, who went on to suggest Kennedy continue supporting Democratic congressional candidates from the 4th Congressional District seat he currently occupies.
“I think the platform that a United States Senate seat gives you is a far more influential one to do that than a U.S. House seat,” Kennedy said. “It’s not even a close comparison. If you think that I’ve done that in the House and you don’t think I could be more effective in the Senate, then that’s fine. But I do think I can be.”
The exchanges Kennedy had with the Ward 10 members underscored the challenge he faces running against Markey. While candidates such as 7th Congressional District Rep. Ayanna Pressley and New York 14th District Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were swept into office in the 2018 cycle running on progressive platforms, Kennedy is not running to the left of Markey, who has been endorsed by Ocasio-Cortez.
The ongoing ward committee caucuses will be an important test for Kennedy, and an opportunity to court delegates to the state convention, where he’ll be competing with Markey for the party’s nomination.
In his closing remarks, Markey cited his endorsements from a range of progressive organizations including the environmental organization Sunrise Movement and NARAL Pro-Choice America. He said the endorsements reflect his willingness to take on powerful interests, including the National Rifle Association and other conservative groups.
“My view is that justice knows no age,” he said. “You just gotta keep working. I have the energy in the fight that will engage the Koch brothers and the NRA.”
