The loss marks the first time a member of the political dynasty has come up short in a race for Congress in Massachusetts.
The Kennedy legacy hung over the race, especially in the closing weeks, when Kennedy more explicitly invoked his pedigree including JFK; former U.S.
Kennedy helped raise millions of dollars for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the House Democrats campaign arm, during the 2018 midterm elections.
Massachusetts voters may have rejected him, but few remaining House Democrats carry the same national fundraising appeal as Kennedy.
In 1986, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend lost a U.S. House race in Maryland, and in 2002, Mark Kennedy Shriver also lost a congressional primary in Maryland.