Is Nancy Pelosi losing her touch?
She may be able to afford all the plastic surgery she wants, but it seems like her old age is catching up to her.
Democrat Representative Joe Kennedy decided to challenge the incumbent Democrat, Senator Ed Markey for his Massachusetts Senate seat.
And despite forbidding Democrats from endorsing candidates that challenge Democrat icumbents, Pelosi’s made an exception for herself!
She chose to endorse Joe Kennedy over Ed Markey.
And the latest polls show her endorsement may have been the kiss of death for Kennedy!
The Boston Herald has the latest news on the new polls:
Three new polls released Wednesday show U.S. Sen. Edward Markey opening a sizable lead over challenger U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy III with less a week to go in their hotly contested Senate primary race.
Markey was up by double digits in a poll from the UMass Lowell Center for Public Opinion that showed him leading Kennedy 52% to 40% in a survey of 800 likely Democratic primary voters between Aug. 13 and 21 — well above the 4.1% margin of error. UMass Lowell pollsters say it’s a “significant” shift from the their previous survey in May that put the rivals in a statistical dead heat with Kennedy edging Markey 44% to 42%.
A Suffolk University telephone poll of 500 registered Bay State voters from Aug. 23-25 showed Markey up 51% to 41% over his challenger, including “leaners” — voters who have not yet made up their minds but are breaking toward one candidate or the other. The poll’s margin of error was 4.4%.
And a Data for Progress poll of likely Democratic primary voters on Aug. 24 and 25 showed Markey leading Kennedy 50% to 43%, with leaners included. The margin of error was 4%.
“It’s hard to release a poll like this given how strong the Kennedy family has done in Massachusetts, but the numbers are the numbers,” Suffolk University Political Research Center Director David Paleologos told the Herald. “You have Markey over 50. When you hit that threshold, that’s a threshold that’s very hard to overcome, especially when it’s an incumbent.”
The surveys stand in stark contrast to the double digits the 74-year-old incumbent was down by when Kennedy, the 39-year-old scion of one of the state’s most notable political dynasties, launched his Senate bid last September. Both camps have been operating under the assumption in recent weeks that the race had narrowed significantly.
Here’s what’s trending on Twitter over the Massachusetts Senate race:
Just to show that Pelosi may actually be losing her grip, Fox News reports that top House Dems decided to break with her decision to endorse Kennedy:
Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler and Oversight Committee Chairwoman Rep. Carolyn Maloney broke with the House speaker to endorse Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey over his opponent, Rep. Joe Kennedy III.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., endorsed Kennedy over the more liberal incumbent last week in the Massachusetts Senate primary set for Sept. 1. Progressives usually balk at the Democratic establishment for its efforts to protect incumbents, but this time they cried foul at Pelosi’s decision to campaign against a colleague. Pelosi served with Markey in the House for over 25 years.
Nadler departed from the speaker to endorse Markey, who co-authored the Green New Deal. “I know his character, and I know his leadership,” Nadler said of Markey in a statement first obtained by The Hill. “There is no doubt in my mind that Ed Markey is the right candidate to fight for the working families in Massachusetts and bring bold, progressive ideas to Congress. Ed has been a champion for climate action, universal health care, and social justice throughout his career. On these issues, he leads and he delivers.”Maloney, D-N.Y. cited Markey’s work with her to secure $25 million to study gun violence as a public health crisis.
"I'm grateful to Ed for his visionary leadership, and energized by his passion and unfailing commitment to serving the people of Massachusetts and our country,” Maloney said.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. has also endorsed Markey. But Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., and the late Rep. John Lewis both endorsed Kennedy.
When Pelosi endorsed Kennedy, the Justice Democrats, a pro-AOC group, said the move “reeks of hypocrisy.” The party is setting one standard for progressives and one entirely different standard for the establishment," they wrote in an email to supporters.
Watch Pelosi's sad attempt to explain herself on CNN:
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