MARKEY IS HER MARK
Shannon Liss-Riordan, left-leaning attorney, goes after incumbent
He’s one of the longestserving members of Congress. She’s a progressive, Elizabeth Warren-esque lawyer fighting against the “rich and powerful” and the Washington “status quo.”
Shannon Liss-Riordan has U.S. Sen. Ed Markey squarely in her sights in next year’s Democratic primary, in hopes of pulling a repeat of the 2018 election fight that ousted veteran Rep. Michael Capuano from the U.S. House.
Liss-Riordan is a wellknown Brookline labor lawyer who has taken on powerful corporations but has no experience in politics and no money to finance her campaign.
“I’ve had enough,” she says in her announcement video. “Enough of the rich getting richer, the powerful trampling on the powerless.”
Sound familiar? It’s the same refrain Warren is using in her presidential bid, and it should make Markey a little nervous. A woman with the nickname of “Sledgehammer” running against Washington and powerful special interests? It’s a recipe for at least a decent chance of an election fight.
The biggest fear for Markey is that he looks vulnerable, and that could open the floodgates and prompt other lefties — like Attorney General Maura Healey, U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark or U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy III to step forward and challenge him.
But even if those pols don’t have the guts to challenge an incumbent Democratic senator, Markey is not off the hook.
Liss-Riordan doesn’t shy away from the spotlight — she’s been the subject of numerous flattering stories about her taking on big corporations on behalf of lowpaid workers.
She knows how to handle the media and likely will know how to keep the pressure on Markey throughout the campaign, focusing on his long years in Congress and some of his votes in Congress, including one for the Iraq War.
But here’s where it gets sticky, because Markey has recently undergone a political facelift, aligning himself with firebrand rebel Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Markey authored the “Green New Deal” along with Ocasio-Cortez, which could inoculate him from charges that he’s part of the status quo. Liss-Riordan also has no experience running a campaign — unlike U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who was a Boston city councilor before she successfully challenged Capuano.
The biggest challenge for Liss-Riordan will be to raise enough money to be competitive against the well-financed Markey. She doesn’t need millions and millions of dollars — Pressley also was underfunded and didn’t even run a traditional TV ad campaign — but she’ll need to convince the media and other politicians that she has a legit shot.
If Liss-Riordan is able to mount a field operation and hire some staffers, and maybe snag an unexpected endorsement of a major Democrat, then she’ll have at least an outside chance of winning the primary.
In 2020, turnout for the Democratic primary will be high, and that could favor a liberal challenger like LissRiordan. She’ll need to swamp Markey among younger voters.
Markey’s challenge is to convince younger voters and liberal female voters that he’s still relevant in Washington and is fighting for issues like climate change.
And hey, his partnership with AOC can’t hurt.