After months of low-level chatter, Joe Kennedy III—son of former Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II and grandson of Bobby—announced Thursday that, come January 20, he will leave his job with the Middlesex County District Attorney’s office to pursue the congressional seat being vacated by the crankily transcendent Barney Frank.
– Capitol Hill has been without a Kennedy a full year now after a six-decade run, but that has a decent chance of changing in September: Joseph P. Kennedy III is formally "exploring" a run for Barney Frank's House seat. "A hail and hearty 31, JPK3 has got the smile, the jawline, the shoulders," writes Michelle Cottle at the Daily Beast. "(Although, good Lord, could that hair be any brighter orange?)" He's also a decent orator, and has a Harvard Law degree and experience as an assistant DA under his belt. This race, though, is about more than recharging the Kennedy dynasty, writes Cottle: It's part of what could be a comeback year for Democrats in Massachusetts. They're still smarting over losing a Senate seat to Scott Brown, but Elizabeth Warren offers a chance to correct that. "This year offers a shot at redemption, if only Dems can fire up their voters. And what better way to do so than with a Kennedy on the ticket?" Maybe, but a skeptical Peter Gelzinis at the Boston Herald warns that plenty of "Kennedy fatigue" still exists in the state.