Rep. Ed Markey, Massachusetts Democrat, will run for the U.S. Senate seat likely to be vacated by John Kerry, who President Obama recently announced as his selection to be the next U.S. Secretary of State, the Boston Globe reports.
Mr. Markey is the first prominent Democrat to announce his intentions to run for the seat. Mr. Kerry is expected to be confirmed easily for the long-desired post, at which point Gov. Deval Patrick would appoint a replacement until a special election is held.
On the Republican side, Sen. Scott Brown, who lost his re-election bid to Democrat Elizabeth Warren this year after winning a special election himself in 2010 to fill the seat of the late Ted Kennedy, has not indicated whether he’ll run again.
“With Senator Kerry’s departure, Massachusetts voters will decide once again whether we want a Senator who will fight for all our families or one who supports a Republican agenda that benefits only the powerful and well-connected,” Mr. Markey said, according to the Globe. “I refuse to allow the Tea Party-dominated Republican Party to lead us off the fiscal cliff and into recession. I won’t allow the [National Rifle Association] to obstruct an assault weapons ban yet again. I will not sit back and allow oil and coal industry lobbyists to thwart our clean energy future or extremists to restrict women’s rights and health care.”
