Ted Kennedy's son wants to be RI Senator
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Now Playing: R.I. race: Chafee vs. Kennedy?
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The nation's smallest state is bracing for a major showdown between two of the nation's political dynasties.

Democratic Rep. Patrick Kennedy is weighing a run against Sen. Lincoln Chafee in a bid to unseat Rhode Island's only major Republican elected official.

"It would be a great race. The two are very evenly matched," said Brown University Prof. Darrell West, author of a biography of Kennedy, 37, a six-term congressman.

"Chafee is a sitting senator and people like him, but he has an 'R' next to his name in a 'D' state."

The dynastic matchup between Kennedy, son of Democratic icon Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), and Chafee, son of the late John Chafee, a revered Rhode Island senator and governor, would thrust the super-blue state into the national political spotlight as the beleaguered Democrats try to win back a seat in the Senate.

The younger Kennedy will say only that he has "been asked by people I respect and admire," including Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), "to consider running for the United States Senate."

Kennedy is taking a look at the race now that his House colleague, Rep. Jim Langevin, has opted out of the race.

Chafee, 52, who was appointed to the seat in 2000 after the death of his father vacated the seat, is considered vulnerable and has little support from his party since he is a liberal Republican, an all but extinct species.

But if Kennedy enters the race, Chafee may find himself flooded with help.

"If Kennedy runs, every group that hates the Kennedys will try to influence the Senate race," West said.

NY Daily News ** R.I. race: Chafee vs. Kennedy?