State Rep. Carl Sciortino, whose state legislative district includes parts of Medford and Somerville, announced on Friday that he plans to seek U.S. Rep. Edward Markey’s seat in the state’s fifth congressional district if the state’s longest-serving congressman wins the June 25 special election to replace Secretary of State John Kerry in the U.S. Senate.
Markey was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976 when he was elected in the seventh congressional district, but currently represents the fifth district following last year’s redistricting when most of the old seventh district became part of the newly-redrawn fifth congressional district.
If Markey, who faces a primary challenge for the Democratic nomination from U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, is ultimately successful in winning Kerry’s seat, he would have to immediately resign his seat in the U.S. House, thereby setting the stage for another special election for his congressional seat.
A graduate of Tufts University, the 34-year-old Sciortino is reportedly one of seven openly gay members of the Massachusetts legislature.
“I am running to continue the strong progressive leadership that the families of the Fifth District have always counted on,” wrote Sciortino on his Facebook page. “I look forward to bringing my record of accomplishment to Washington to fight for our progressive values.”
Sciortino also told friends and supporters that he is actively supporting Markey’s Senate candidacy.
“I am proud to call Ed Markey my Congressman and I am dedicated to helping elect him as our next U.S. Senator,” he said. “His record on behalf of Massachusetts families – fighting for jobs, consumers’ rights and a healthier environment— is the kind of leadership Massachusetts needs in the Senate and it is a record I look forward to continuing in Congress.”
Sciortino was initially elected to the Massachusetts legislature in 2004 at the age of twenty-five when he unseated a sixteen-year Democratic incumbent.
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