Chris Kennedy apparently isn’t letting the fizzled bid of cousin Caroline Kennedy discourage his own political aspirations. Chris Kennedy, who is the son of the late Robert F. Kennedy, is pulling together a squad to help him launch a run at the U.S. Senate, CNN is reporting. “He is building an organization and telling family and friends that he is in fact going to be a candidate for the Senate from Illinois,” said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Christopher Joseph Kennedy, an Illinois businessman has been president of Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. in Chicago since 2000. Kasey Madden, Kennedy’s spokeswoman, acknowledged that he “has conducted polling which indicates a strong interest, but there is no timeline for a decision or an announcement.” Another CNN source, however, told the network that Kennedy’s political allies are telling state Democrats that he will indeed seek the Democratic nomination for the seat once held by President Obama. The seat currently is occupied by Sen. Roland Burris, a Democrat and former state attorney general, who was appointed to fill Obama’s unexpired term by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. But Illinois Democrats never conveyed their blessings on the appointment of Burris – because of his link to Blagojevich, who has since been impeached. Chris Kennedy’s father, Robert, represented New York in the U.S. Senate before being assassinated in 1968. His cousin, Caroline, had hoped to represent New York in the Senate but folded up her senatorial aspirations earlier this year amid rising speculation that she would not be chosen by the governor to fill Hillary Clinton’s vacant seat.

TAGS: Blagojevich, Chris Kennedy, President Obama, U.S. Senate

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