Kennedy Widow Urged to Run Against Scott Brown

The widow of the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy is being urged by prominent Democrats to run for the seat currently held by Republican Sen. Scott Brown.

They believe that Victoria Reggie Kennedy has the best chance of any candidate to win the seat back in 2012, according to a report in The Washington Post.

Though she has seemed to bat down the idea, Kennedy has been in some ways acting the part of a candidate. She has raised her public profile by campaigning for other politicians and appearing at events across the country.

Phil Johnston, a former chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, told the Post he and many others have urged her to run, and Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass., said she would be "a superb candidate, no question."

"Does she have it? Yeah, she's got it in spades," said Delahunt, a close friend of Kennedy's. "Anyone would tout her if you're trying to recruit candidates."

Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., is among those quietly promoting her candidacy, according to several Democratic sources in Massachusetts. Schumer declined to comment.

But the prospect of her candidacy is fast becoming a source of family tension, several Kennedy intimates told the Post. Some relatives fear that a campaign against Brown — a popular figure even in liberal Massachusetts — would distract Kennedy from promoting her late husband's legacy, they said.