[caption id="attachment_69076" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Kennedy."]
BOSTON --- The anticipated entry of Joseph P. Kennedy III into politics occurred last week when the 31-year-old assistant district attorney announced that he will be leaving his job at Cambridge District Court to form an exploratory committee.
Kennedy is taking his first steps toward running for the seat of U.S. Representative Barney Frank, who stunned the political world late last year by announcing that he would retire this year after serving 32 years in Congress.
Kennedy is the son of former U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II, a grandson of the late U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and great-nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy and the late U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.
For the first time in more than 60 years, no Kennedy is currently holding office in Washington. Senator Edward Kennedy passed away in 2009, and U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island retired in 2010.
"My decision to look seriously at elected office is grounded in a deep commitment to public service and my experience - both my own and that of my family - in finding just, practical, and bipartisan solutions to difficult challenges," Kennedy said in announcing his plans.
Kennedy has graduated from both Stanford University and Harvard Law School. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic from 2004 to 2006.
Since last September he has been prosecuting criminal cases for the Middlesex District Attorney's Office, having previously worked for the Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office from 2009 to 2011.
If he does become the nominee of the Democrats, Kennedy's Republican rival will likely be ex-Marine Sean Bielat, who did surprisingly well in his race against Frank in 2010 and is expected to make his announcement next Tuesday.
Bielat and Republican pundits are suggesting that many voters are suffering from "Kennedy fatigue" and that the race will be decided on the issues and not on the Kennedy mystique.
