Markey Missing the Mark

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/04/07/metro/ed-markey-short-signatures-ahead-may-deadline/

Senator Markey has roughly 7,000 of the 10,000 signatures he needs to qualify for Massachusetts' September primary. Meanwhile, his challenger, Joe Kennedy III, has already submitted 15,000.  Though the campaign insists they are not worried, this could be a troubling sign for the progressive senator as he goes up against the younger, more moderate member of the Kennedy dynasty, especially given the changes in campaign strategy necessitated by the coronavirus outbreak. 

"...it is going to take a lot more work — and money — to collect the remaining signatures than it typically would, thanks to the coronavirus outbreak. No longer can his field organizers and volunteers head out to supermarkets and town meetings armed with clipboards and pens, as the Markey campaign planned along with numerous other candidates down the ballot. Concern about the virus forced the state Democratic party to cancel more than 100 local caucuses at which Markey and others planned to collect signatures, too.

Now, the Markey campaign is asking supporters to visit a website and fill out a form so the campaign can mail them a paper copy of a Markey’s nomination papers. After signing the papers, people must them mail them back to the campaign in the prepaid, preaddressed envelope provided by the campaign...

...The fact that Markey, who has served in Washington for more than four decades, didn’t yet have the necessary signatures to get on the ballot raised some eyebrows in political circles."