MA-SEN: Looks like Kennedy is going to run. [View all]
BOSTON — Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.) is staffing up as he seriously considers a Senate race: On Thursday, he offered a job to a political operative who is well known to both him and his potential challenger.
Rich Thuma, who previously worked for the Democratic senator whom Kennedy would challenge, Ed Markey, accepted the job shortly after noon Thursday. He was working as the New Hampshire state director for Gov. Steve Bullock’s struggling presidential run.
The hire is a sign that the 38-year-old Kennedy is already gearing up as he publicly weighs whether to take on Markey. It also illustrates the tense divisions that a Markey-Kennedy matchup would create within the Massachusetts political class. Many volunteers, operatives and donors have supported both politicians, and now find themselves in the uncomfortable position of choosing sides.
“We aren’t going to comment on the staffing process for a potential campaign,” said Kennedy spokeswoman Emily Kaufman.
But Kennedy is clearly creating a campaign in waiting in case he decides to run.
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/12/joe-kennedy-hire-rich-thuma-1493027
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