Markey announces Senate candidacy in Mass.

Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., became the first major candidate in either party to announce a bid for John Kerry's soon-to-be-vacated Senate seat today, telling the Boston Globe, "I have decided to run for the US Senate because this fight is too important. There is so much at stake."

"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," Markey said. "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."

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, a Democrat, has said he will appoint a placeholder to fill Kerry's seat until a special election later in 2013 produces a victor. President Obama announced last week that he will nominate Kerry as his next Secretary of State to replace Hillary Clinton, who is expected to step down in the coming weeks. When Kerry is confirmed and he resigns from the Senate, Patrick's placeholder will be sworn in and the special election in which Markey will run will be held within 145 to 160 days to fill the remainder of Kerry's term.

Markey, who is the dean of Massachusetts' Washington delegation and the ranking member on the House's Natural Resources Committee, was perhaps best known in recent years as the co-author, with Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., of the 2009 "American Clean Energy and Security Act," better known as "cap and trade," which passed the House in June 2009.

Two other Bay State Democrats, Reps. Michael Capuano and Stephen Lynch, have expressed interest in running in the special election for Kerry's seat but have not yet formalized a bid.

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The Republican field for the special election remains a mystery, but many national Republicans would like to see incumbent Sen. Scott Brown, who was defeated in November by Democrat Elizabeth Warren, launch a bid for Kerry's seat. Brown has not indicated whether he will run again, but his farewell speech to the Senate, in which he told colleagues, "We may obviously meet again," stirred speculation that he is mulling another bid.

[MGNWV]

Its time we all start living in the real world. We are blowing up our mountains in Southern Appalachia to power our country and others like India. Does this sound like something we can continue to do? We are blowing up homes on the surface for gas and fracking the very land we live on and polluting water at astronomical rates for the treatment and pollution from fossil fuel extraction. Water is life and can be the death of us all.
WE all must be prepared to make major changes in our lives to stop what has proven to be a spiraling cycle of the dog chasing its tail. We all seem to be trapped in a place none of want to be anymore. We are blowing up mountains and polluting water, air and land (which is killing people) to get the coal that is used in the coal fired power plants that pollutes the air water and land (which kills people) and causes global climate change which kills massive numbers of people too. Ed Markey sees what these out of control industries plan to do to our country and our planet and he is willing to stand in the way. Thank God for Ed Markey. I sure wish we could have someone like him in WV as Senator. Please give Mr Markey this opportunity to turn around the Senators like ours in WV. Ed Markey has what it takes to go up against these "good ole boys" in the Senate and he will. As Ed Markey said "This is too important and there is so much at stake"

We have what seems to be a bunch of indecisive teenagers in the Congress and Senate right now and this needs to change fast! We are running out of time and their pockets are only getting thicker. Its time that we all demand clean energy even if we have to obtain it ourselves through solar and wind. We can and must support good people like Ed Markey and we must change the control of our country. Stop the killing and lies by energy industries and support healthy clean energy and those who support it.
Speaking only for myself as an individual..

[MGNWV]

Its time we all start living in the real world. We are blowing up our mountains in Southern Appalachia to power our country and others like India. Does this sound like something we can continue to do? We are blowing up homes on the surface for gas and fracking the very land we live on and polluting water at astronomical rates for the treatment and pollution from fossil fuel extraction. Water is life and can be the death of us all.
WE all must be prepared to make major changes in our lives to stop what has proven to be a spiraling cycle of the dog chasing its tail. We all seem to be trapped in a place none of want to be anymore. We are blowing up mountains and polluting water, air and land (which is killing people) to get the coal that is used in the coal fired power plants that pollutes the air water and land (which kills people) and causes global climate change which kills massive numbers of people too. Ed Markey sees what these out of control industries plan to do to our country and our planet and he is willing to stand in the way. Thank God for Ed Markey. I sure wish we could have someone like him in WV as Senator. Please give Mr Markey this opportunity to turn around the Senators like ours in WV. Ed Markey has what it takes to go up against these "good ole boys" in the Senate and he will. As Ed Markey said "This is too important and there is so much at stake"

We have what seems to be a bunch of indecisive teenagers in the Congress and Senate right now and this needs to change fast! We are running out of time and their pockets are only getting thicker. Its time that we all demand clean energy even if we have to obtain it ourselves through solar and wind. We can and must support good people like Ed Markey and we must change the control of our country. Stop the killing and lies by energy industries and support healthy clean energy and those who support it.
Speaking only for myself as an individual..

[MaggieSk8]

I hope that Markey gets the senate position. Someone needs to push this country forward on addressing climate change. I'm tired of the oil and coal companies forcing their selfish agenda on the American people. They continue to get rich while people, businesses and other industries suffer the consequences of climate change: drought, hurricanes, wild fires, flooding, power outages, low river levels, etc. We need more politicians who aren't in the pocket of the fossel fuel industry.

[littlemjs]

The fossil fuel industry wouldn't be as successful if people didn't demand that kind of energy. The problem is not with the companies....since they aren't forcing anyone to buy a car that uses gas or oil to heat with. The problem lies with the people themselves......we are not a "green" country because the people are spoiled and don't have the stomach to make the sacrifice to change. They want their gas guzzling cars and big homes that use oil and gas to heat them. Companies sell what's popular and what makes money. The last time I checked....windmills aren't popular because people don't want them in their "backyard". They fight them every step of the way. Remember Ted Kennedy fighting installation of windmills down on Cape Cod? Companies aren't going to invest in something when the people don't want it...that would be stupid!

[w_roos]

Markey would be good. He's definitely senatorial timber. Maybe Barney Frank can be the placeholder selection until after the special election.

[Steve851]

With Markey as an opponent, Scott Brown may actually win. Markey is the biggest joke there is

[Ben37221]

If their is any reason not to vote for Brown, one does not need to look far than to see what the republicans are doing with the fisical cliff. The only people the GOP cares about are the top 2%, and those are the people that funded Brown's last election against Warren.

[Ben37221]

It will be nice to send Brown on his way once and for all. He may be the most moderate of the republicans, but a victory for Brown will only enbolding the crazy tea party who will rather see this country destroyed than see the Obama administration do well. We don't need another obstructionist.

[properoldlady]

Yes!! Rep. Markey appears to have firm beliefs. Wow. Good luck sir. Wish you the best, for all our sakes.

[davidmirsky]

Instead of appointing a "place-holder", Governor Deval Patrick should appoint Congressman Ed Markey to take Senator John Kerry's U.S. Senate seat. In these difficult times, when the Republican Party is behaving so badly and is so far out of touch with the interests of the American people, Democrats need to stick together. Ed Markey would be a great U.S. Senator, he has the record to prove it. Governor Patrick should give Ed Markey every advantage to retain that important U.S. Senate seat.

[littlemjs]

Pllllleeeeeeaaaassssseee! Ed Markey is a career politician who is as old as the hills. Could we please get some young blood in there. And while we are at it, why don't we just appoint candidates to all of our political offices. Why bother letting the people decide! Better still...let's just get rid of all those nasty Republicans who don't agree with our liberal point of view and are ruining the world! Do you even realize how absurd your comment sounds! lol

[Ben37221]

He may be a career politician, but he is one who is capable of putting his country first. Unlike the lunatics that the GOP have become.

[nicmart]

Politicians are never motivated by ambition. They are always needed: by God, the Earth, poor people, underpaid teachers, virgins, or some constituency that beckons them in their dreams.