‘Outsider’ or ‘scion of political dynasty’?
Joe K III takes heat for ‘Wait Your Turn’ ad
U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy III is taking heat this week for his past backing of establishment politicians over progressive challengers after political watchers say a new campaign ad backfired just as the congressman looks to land his final blows on U.S. Sen. Edward Markey in their primary bout.
In a digital ad the Kennedy campaign posted to social media Monday, a handful of younger elected officials, primarily men and women of color, knock the “wait your turn” and “why tackle an incumbent” jabs they fended off while running for their respective offices — the same attacks that have been leveled against Kennedy’s bid to unseat Markey from the start.
But observers say the messaging — lifted straight from the insurgent playbook — doesn’t quite fit for the scion of one of America’s most well-known political dynasties.
“They’re using messaging that other candidates like an Ayanna Pressley have used in the past, or even Deval Patrick,” Boston-based Democratic strategist Wilnelia Rivera, who worked for Pressley and former Senate hopeful Steve Pemberton, said. “The arc of the messaging isn’t wrong. But the course of (Kennedy’s) political career is not one to be pushing the envelope or supporting other candidates who did not wait their turn.”
Markey backers seized on the ad as an opportunity to lambaste Kennedy’s establishment ties and to call out his past track record of endorsing incumbents U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano over Pressley and state Rep. Jeff Sanchez over challenger Nika Elugardo. Both sitting pols went on to lose.
Kennedy’s camp cited the congressman’s work campaigning nationally for U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Ill., who upset Republican incumbent Randy Hultgren in 2018, and other Democrats who knocked out Republican incumbents.
“We’re proud to have the support of so many rising, diverse leaders in Massachusetts that challenged the status quo and triumphed,” Kennedy spokesman Brian Phillips Jr. said. “The fact that the Senator’s campaign is trying to question their judgment and credibility is perhaps why he has not earned the same support.”
Still, UMass Lowell political science professor John Cluverius said Kennedy’s famous last name makes it hard to claim the same “outsider mantle” as those featured in his ad.
“To sort of have all these outsider insurgent left officeholders talking about how ‘They told me it wasn’t my turn, they told me I wasn’t part of the establishment’ — that as an observer rings as disingenuous,” Cluverius said. “Is Joe Kennedy the insurgent outsider or is he the scion of a political dynasty? He can’t be both.”
Both Kennedy and Markey have struggled with messaging in a tight race that’s focused far more on personality than policy differences. But Kennedy’s misfire comes at a critical juncture with just weeks until voters begin casting ballots, strategists say.
“People are making up their minds right now,” Democratic strategist Tony Cignoli said. “This will impact what they do.”