Ted Kennedy Jr. will not seek Kerry’s Senate seat in Massachusetts

Ted Kennedy Jr. (D), a son of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D), will not run for Sen. John Kerry’s (D-Mass.) seat if Kerry is confirmed as the next secretary of State, according to a statement he released Monday.

Kennedy Jr. said that although he’s “extremely grateful for all of the offers of support,” he doesn’t want to uproot his family from their current home in Connecticut, and doesn’t feel good about moving to Massachusetts to run for a seat outside of his current home state. Kennedy said he has a “strong desire” to some day seek office “at another point in my future,” most likely in Connecticut.

{mosads}President Obama’s nomination of Kerry for secretary of State on Friday set off a scramble — particularly among Democrats — to fill the Massachusetts Senate seat in a special election to be held next year.

Kennedy Jr., an entrepreneur and lawyer, told the Hartford Courant last month that “maybe one day” he’d consider running for national office, and multiple media reports in the last week have cited an anonymous friend of Kennedy Jr. as saying he was seriously considering a run.

Victoria Kennedy, the second wife of Edward Kennedy, has also been mentioned as a potential candidate. Her spokeswoman, Debra Reed, told The Hill on Friday that Victoria Kennedy had no comment at this time.

Other potential Democratic candidates include Massachusetts Reps. Edward Markey (D), Stephen Lynch (D) and Michael Capuano (D), state Sen. Ben Downing (D) and actor Ben Affleck.

Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.), who lost his Senate seat in a bruising election against Elizabeth Warren (D), is positioned to be the favorite among Republican candidates.

According to state law, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) must appoint a temporary successor, and many believe he’ll select someone who does not intend to run for the seat in the special election.

Spokesmen for retiring Reps. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and John Olver (D-Mass.) declined to comment when asked if they had been contacted by Duval or would consider the interim position; both seem natural temporary fits.

–This article was originally published at 11:57 a.m. and last updated at 1:52 p.m.