JFK's grand-nephew to bid for Massachusetts Senator

Joe Kennedy, the grand-nephew of late US President John F. Kennedy, has said that he will run for the Massachusetts Senate seat in 2020, challenging incumbent Senator Ed Markey.

The 38-year-old heir of the Kennedy family will formally announce his candidacy on Saturday, and he told Markey in person about his plan on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency quoted the Boston Globe as saying in a report.

After making his candidacy at the East Boston Social Centres in Boston, Joe Kennedy is scheduled to tour the state through September 23, with a focus on issues including healthcare access, mental health and addiction, climate change, as well as civil rights during his campaign.

The race is expected to showcase the widening generational divide among Democratic voters in the state.

Joe Kennedy, now a Congressman representing the state, is the only member of the Kennedy family serving in Washington, while Markey, who was first elected to the House in 1976, is the longest-serving member of the state's Congressional delegation.

Having benefited from and still taking advantage of his last name, Joe Kennedy is also seen as a rising star in the Democratic party. That could buoy him, given that young Democratic voters have called for a new generation of leaders in the 2020 Presidential primary.

About political views, Joe Kennedy and the 73-year-old Markey, both progressives, share a lot in common on core Democratic issues. The Boston Globe said that the two "are separated more by age than ideology".

In the wake of the Boston Globe's report, Markey confirmed his intention to run for re-election.