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Capuano Poised to Enter Massachusetts Special Election

Updated: 5:05 p.m.

Rep. Mike Capuano (D) on Tuesday became the second Member in the Massachusetts delegation to pick up the appropriate paperwork to run in the special election for the late Sen. Edward Kennedy’s (D) seat.

Capuano said in a statement that he believes he would most closely mirror Kennedy’s “progressive ideals.— He also said he would make a formal announcement next week about a bid.

“No other candidate being mentioned or already announced more closely mirrors Ted Kennedy’s positions on important issues of war and peace,— Capuano said. “Today I obtained nomination papers for the vacant U.S. Senate seat as the next step toward making a decision regarding candidacy.—

Former Rep. Joe Kennedy’s (D-Mass.) formal announcement Monday that he would not run for his late uncle’s seat leaves the race wide open for several Bay State Democrats. And because elected officials do not have to leave their current office to run, the race is enticing for many Members who have not seen an open Massachusetts Senate race since 1984.

Aides to Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) picked up the paperwork for his bid Friday, and Attorney General Martha Coakley (D) announced last week that she would run for the seat. At least two other Democratic Members in the Massachusetts delegation, Rep. Ed Markey and Rep. John Tierney, are also still looking at a bid.

Former Rep. Marty Meehan (D-Mass.) on Tuesday officially removed his name from the list of possible special election candidates.

Meehan resigned from Congress in 2007 to become chancellor of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.

“While I am not ruling out the possibility of seeking public office in the future, I am fortunate to be leading a remarkable university that I love, and I just don’t want to walk away,— Meehan said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.

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