Joe Kennedy III Becomes the First Kennedy to Lose in Massachusetts

From Town & Country

Last night, when Joe Kennedy III conceded the Senate primary race to incumbent Edward Markey, he became the first in his family to lose an election in Massachusetts.

"To everyone who fought with us. Everyone who stood with us. Everyone who believed in us and gave their sweat and tears and hearts and souls to this fight: Thank you. I am so proud of what we built together," Kennedy tweeted on Tuesday night. "I’d do it with you all again in a heartbeat."

It's unclear what he'll do next, but in the meantime, here's what to know about him.

Yes, he's one of those Kennedys.

Joseph Kennedy III was quite literally born into a political dynasty. His father, Joseph Kennedy II, served as a member of the House of Representatives for over 10 years. His grandfather was Senator Robert Kennedy, and his great uncles include JFK and longtime Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy. Going back even further, Kennedy's namesake Joseph Kennedy Sr. served as the SEC chairman and later the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom under FDR.

Joe Kennedy even got his political start on a family campaign. After college at Stanford and a stint in the Peace Corps, in 2006, he worked on his Uncle Ted's re-election bid to the Senate.

"People come up every day and usually say very nice things about my family, but sometimes not. You get both," Kennedy told Town & Country in a 2017 profile, acknowledging that being part of the Kennedy political machine certainly has its pros and cons.

"Look, my family means different things to different folks. I think for most people they have very fond memories and believe my family made important contributions to the country. And I happen to believe so too, and I’m grateful when people do mention that and share their stories: 'I shook your grandfather’s hand,' or JFK’s hand, or 'I met your Uncle Teddy.'"

He was first elected in 2012.

After graduating in Harvard Law school in 2009, Kennedy worked as an assistant DA in several Massachusetts counties, and in February of 2012, he announced his intention to run for the state's 4th congressional district seat, which was open following Barney Frank's retirement. In November of that year, he beat Republican Sean Bielat in the general election.

Kennedy has since been reelected to the U.S. House of representatives two more times, in 2014 and 2016, and he served on the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

In 2018 at just 37, he was reportedly the youngest person to ever deliver the Democratic response to a Republican State of the Union. But he gave up his seat, opting not to run for reelection to the House, in order to run for the Senate.

Kennedy is hardly a fan of the current administration.

According to FiveThirtyEight, Kennedy votes in line with the President's position less than 11 percent of the time, and the Congressman isn't shy about sharing his criticisms of the the administration. Many of his speeches in opposition to Republican initiatives have gone viral including the one below, in which he called last year's GOP healthcare bill an "act of malice." It has been viewed over 10 million times.

As he voted to impeach Trump, he shared a letter to his two children, about why he's made that choice.

"Dear Ellie and James: This is a moment that you'll read about in your history books. Today, I will vote to impeach the president of the United States. And I want you to know why," he said. Watch the full video of his speech here:

He's married to his law school sweetheart.

Kennedy met Lauren Birchfield in now-Senator Elizabeth Warren's class at Harvard Law. They married shortly after he won his first election, and now have two children, Eleanor "Ellie" and James Matthew.

In 2018, he gave the response to Trump's State of the Union address.

Following President Trump's State of the Union address in 2018, Kennedy gave the Democratic response from Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School in his Massachusetts district.

The choice was a symbolic one for Kennedy. "Throughout its history, Fall River has been a resilient and proud city," he told the Herald News. "The 1,400 students of Diman embody that same spirit. As Democrats seek to build an economy that works for all Americans, Diman is an innovative and inspiring model. I couldn’t imagine a more fitting location to deliver the Democratic response to the State of the Union."

In 2020, he lost a primary election for a seat in the Senate.

Kennedy announced his plans to run for senate in September 2019, challenging the incumbent, Senator Ed Markey. Previously, he had said he would consider running for Senate at some point in the future.

"Somewhere down the road, if a Senate seat were to open, yeah it’s something I’d certainly take a look at,” he said in profile in Politico.

“But that’s got to be right in time for me and my family,” he said.

But some were skeptical of his campaign.

“He has never answered the question of ‘why he’s running’ well,” Erin O’Brien, a political science professor at University of Massachusetts Boston, told Vox. “That’s because his answer isn’t one that flies in politics: The answer is ‘I’m ambitious,’ and he perceives Ed Markey as easier to beat than an open Senate race against someone like Ayanna Pressley, Maura Healey, or Katherine Clark.”

In the end, Kennedy lost the primary election.

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