The Massachusetts Rep. tells TIME she enjoys a 'great relationship' with both men
Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley has no plans to make an endorsement in the contested Senate primary in her home state, she said on Thursday.
The Boston Globe reported Wednesday that Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III will formally announce this coming Saturday his intention to challenge Democratic incumbent Edward J. Markey for his Senate seat in 2020.
Presssley, who herself successfully challenged longtime incumbent Michael Capuano in 2018, said that voters needed to make the decision for themselves.
“I am very fortunate in that I enjoy a great relationship with both Senator Markey and Representative Kennedy,” she said, noting in an interview with TIME Thursday that she had worked with both of them on many issues, from health care to environmental justice and gun violence. “I enjoy a productive partnership with both of them and I don’t expect that will change. But as for this race, the electorate will decide that.”
Pressley previously worked as an aide for Kennedy’s father, former U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy II. But Kennedy III backed Capuano when Pressley ran against him.
Pressed again if she would ever make an endorsement in the cycle, she reiterated “the electorate is the endorsement that matters. And they’ll decide.”
Two other candidates, Labor attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan and businessman and author Steve Pemberton, are also running in the primary against Markey — a fact Pressley was key to point out.
“I think it’s important to remember there is one incumbent and there are three challengers in this race,” she said. “People are framing this as if this is a contest between two people, but there is an incumbent and there are three challengers. And each of those people will make their case to the electorate.”