Sorry for the hit and run post, but the Lowell Sun is reporting that Donoghue had committed to this race (last fall??) and Golden (smartly) is opting out.
Not sure if the other Rep mentioned, Murphy, really wants to run for this seat, but Donoghue is the big name here so I expect it’ll be tough for anyone else to give up an existing seat only to potentially lose.
The race to replace state Sen. Steven Panagiotakos in the Senate began to take shape Thursday afternoon with two potential candidates saying they had made decisions on their political futures.
Former mayor and city councilor Eileen Donoghue told The Sun she would run this fall, jumping back into elected politics two years after she ran in a tightly contested Democratic primary for Congress in 2007 against U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas.
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Meanwhile, state Rep. Thomas Golden told The Sun he had decided against a run for the Senate, choosing instead to stick with his plan to seek re-election to his House seat.
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State Rep. Kevin Murphy has also said he would consider running for Panagiotakos’s Senate seat. He could not be reached immediately for comment.
On the Republican side, Angel Connell, the former Westford selectman and chairman of the Westford Republican Town Committee, is said considering a possible run, according to two sources.
Donoghue is effective, well liked, and piled up a ton of votes in the senate district when she ran for Congress. I can’t think of anyone who can beat her.
with the late date the open seat was announced…