Politics & Government

Patrick Names Former Chief of Staff, Cowan, as Interim Senator

Markey is in, Lynch is set to make an announcement Thursday and Brown is reportedly considering throwing his hat into the race following Tuesday's nomination of John Kerry as Secretary of State.

With Tuesday's official nomination of U.S. Senator John Kerry to the post of Secretary of State, the field is opening up with folks vying for Kerry's seat in his unexpired term in the U.S. Senate.

But before that even happens, Gov. Deval Patrick on Wednesday announced his former chief of staff William “Mo” Cowan will be the interim senator and will serve until a new senator is elected in the June 25 special election.

Besides being Patrick’s former chief of staff, Cowan also served as chief legal counsel to Patrick, having served in the Patrick-Murray Administration since 2009.

"I am proud and delighted to appoint Mo Cowan as interim U.S. Senator from Massachusetts," Patrick said in a statement Wednesday before later holding a press conference. “Mo's service on the front lines in our efforts to manage through the worst economy in 80 years and build a better, stronger Commonwealth for the next generation has earned him the respect and admiration of people throughout government. The people of the Commonwealth have benefited from his wisdom and good judgment during his time in our office, and will again in the Senate."

Cowan said he’s honored and humbled by the appointment.

“I pledge to you and the people of Massachusetts that during this interim period I will work as hard as humanly possible to perform my duties with the needs and aspirations of our state's citizens foremost in mind,” Cowan said.

The primary is set for April 30 and the special election is June 25. Nomination papers will be made available through Secretary of State William Galvin’s office, giving candidates four weeks to collect the 10,000 signatures required to get on the April 30 primary ballot.

Candidates in the Running for Senate Seat

Already officially in the running for Kerry’s senate seat is U.S. Rep. Edward Markey (D-Malden). Markey announced his intentions to run back in late December.

Markey, who has been a U.S. Representative since 1976, represents the fifth Congressional District, which is much of the area to the west and south of the North Shore near Boston.

There has also been talk - but no official confirmation - that U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-South Boston) is also considering a run for the position.

Lynch represents the 8th Congressional District, a district that includes Boston and the South Shore. While there have been rumors Lynch would run for the seat, there has been no official announcement from Lynch, but that could be coming soon.

On Tuesday on his Facebook page, Lynch issued a statement saying he is considering a run for U.S. Senate and has been talking to family, close friends and meeting with constituents about this race. He is expected to make his decision public on Thursday when he will be making a "major announcement' at 4 p.m. at the Ironworks Local 7 Hall in South Boston.

Former U.S. Senator Scott Brown is also said to be mulling a run for this seat. The Boston Globe Wednesday morning reported that GOP officials close to Brown say he’s “leaning strongly toward running.” There has been no official word from Brown or his office.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Hamilton-Wenham