PROVIDENCE -- The head of the Rhode Island Republican Party said the GOP victory in the Massachusetts Senate race shows Democratic U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy is "incredibly vulnerable" in this fall's mid-term election.
Scott Brown won a special election Tuesday for the seat held nearly 50 years by Kennedy's father, Edward Kennedy, who died in August.
GOP Chairman Giovanni Cicione said the election showed voters are moving away from Kennedy-style politics and independent voters are looking for options.
Kennedy said in a statement Wednesday that both candidates ran strong campaigns.
"This special election was always about the people of Massachusetts and the issues that are affecting working families. Building consensus is critical to the legislative process and I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress to rebuild our nation's economy, create jobs, ensure aggressive oversight of taxpayer dollars and make health care more affordable and accessible on behalf of working families in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and across the nation," Kennedy said.
Cicione said Kennedy challenger John Loughlin has been such a strong fundraiser that the race has drawn interest from the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Loughlin said he's raised $230,000 as of Dec. 31. That lags far behind the $540,000 Kennedy had raised as of Sept. 30, the most recent numbers available.
NBC 10 News contributed to this report.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement