Vicki Kennedy Won’t Run

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Despite her husband’s former colleagues’ obvious admiration for her grace under fire this past week (former Senator John Breaux — a friend of Kennedy’s and of the Reggie’s who hail from the same hometown — went so far as to tell me that, “She knows the players very well and that goes a very long way with helping you be successful in the Senate, I think she’d make a terrific choice”) I have it from three sources close to Vicki Reggie Kennedy that she has no intention to run for her late husband’s seat.

Which leaves the front runner, EMK nephew and former Massachusetts Congressman Joe Kennedy, who’s got the name and $2 million in left over campaign funds. Also today, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley threw her hat in the ring. So, it’s shaping up to be a quick — just three months — and competitive primary. Republicans, well organized and funded but dwarfed in voter rolls, are hoping for a blood bath to give their candidate — potentially former Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey — a window of opportunity. The question is: 57 years after a Kennedy first won this seat, does Massachusetts have the appetite to send a Kennedy back to fill it?