Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest: Carl Sciortino is first Democrat to announce for Markey's seat

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' MA-05: We have what looks like our first declared candidate for Rep. Ed Markey's seat, assuming he wins the Senate special election and then a House special election is required in turn: state Rep. Carl Sciortino. In his announcement press release, Sciortino referred to himself as a progressive three times, and also wisely endorsed the man he's hoping to succeed. Sciortino definitely has an interesting profile. In his own words:

A leading progressive voice, Rep. Sciortino was first elected in 2004, upsetting a 14-year incumbent at age 25. One of the Commonwealth's seven openly-gay legislators, Sciortino is the leading voice for LGBT rights on Beacon Hill, championing the fight for marriage equality and co-authoring the 2011 Transgender Equal Rights Bill. In 2007, Sciortino co-authored the bill which created the 35-foot buffer zone that protects the entrances to women's reproductive health centers.  He has led the fight to close corporate tax loopholes and make the state's minimum wage the highest in the nation.

MA-05 is a very blue district that reaches around Boston across the north, taking in part of Cambridge, then extends south and west to encompass the town of Framingham. It went for Obama 65-33 in 2012, so if the seat becomes open, the action here will be on the Democratic side.

I also think downballot candidacies will offer a window into how the political establishment views the Senate primary between Markey and fellow Rep. Stephen Lynch of MA-08. If more candidates express an interest in Markey's seat than Lynch's, then I think it's reasonable to conclude more people think Markey will win the Democratic primary, which is less than three months away on April 30.