BOSTON — For nearly half a century, Sen. Edward Kennedy has guarded his family’s political legacy. Stricken with cancer and as Congress takes up his signature issue, he is tending to his own.
Kennedy asked Massachusetts lawmakers to change state law to give Gov. Deval Patrick, a fellow Democrat and supporter of President Barack Obama, the ability to appoint an interim replacement to Kennedy’s seat should Kennedy be unable to continue serving.
Under state law, an election is required within 145 to 160 days after a Senate seat becomes vacant. That would temporarily leave Massachusetts without a voice in the Senate — and Senate Democrats potentially one vote short on any health care overhaul legislation.
Kennedy said he supports the special election process but wants to ensure the seat is filled promptly.
“It is vital for this Commonwealth to have two voices speaking for the needs of its citizens and two votes in the Senate during the approximately five months between a vacancy and an election,” Kennedy said in a letter to Patrick.
For Kennedy, the proposal is about more than just the mechanics of succession.
Health care has been Kennedy’s core issue for decades. Although Democrats hold a potentially filibuster-proof margin in the Senate, the fate of a sweeping health care bill could hinge on a single vote, and some moderate Democrats have been wavering. Another Democrat, Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, has been seriously ill and often absent.
Any change could not happen immediately. State lawmakers are not expected to return to formal sessions until after Labor Day.
The state last changed its succession law in 2004 to require the special election. Before that, the governor was allowed to name a successor.
At the time, Democrats were worried that then-Republican Gov. Mitt Romney would be able to fill any vacancy created if Democratic Sen. John Kerry was elected president.
The letter was sent Tuesday, but Kennedy aides insist there is no material change in his condition since he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in May 2008.
The 77-year-old has been convalescing at his homes in Washington and in Hyannis Port, as well as a rental property in Florida, but his absence from last week’s funeral for his sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver prompted a flurry of questions about his health.
An aide said the letter was one of several written by Kennedy in early July. Another was to Pope Benedict XVI and was hand-delivered by President Barack Obama during a visit to the Vatican.
