Political Campaigns
Kennedy campaigned for the seat being vacated by U.S. Representative Ronald Machtley (who was retiring) in the 1994 Rhode Island 1st congressional district election. He won the election, defeating Republican candidate Kevin Vigilante. He was one of four Democrats in the 1994 congressional elections to win a congressional seat that had just been held by a Republican, while Republicans gained dozens of seats to take over the U.S. House. He has been re-elected in each subsequent election.
He considered running against Republican Lincoln Chafee in the 2000 U.S. Senate election in Rhode Island, later won by Chafee. During the 2000 U.S. Senate recruiting phase, U.S. Representative Richard A. Gephardt, then-U.S. House Minority Leader, appointed Kennedy to the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations, a high-profile assignment that led Kennedy to pass up the U.S. Senate opportunity for 2000. He again considered running against Chafee in 2006, but did not.
Kennedy did not run for another term 2010. He finished his 8th term at the completion of the 111th United States Congress.
Read more about this topic: Patrick J. Kennedy
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