Senior democratic sources say that Joseph P. Kennedy III may be running for Congress in Massachusetts 10th Congressional district. There is speculation that William Delahunt may join the throng of democrats who have mysteriously picked 2010 as the year they’ll retire. Odds are good that if Delahunt does call it quits after 14 years in Congress, Joseph P. Kennedy III, the grandson of RFK may take the opportunity to run for Congress. Delahunt reportedly tried to quit once before, but Edward Kennedy convinced him to remain in Congress.

UPDATE: 2/28/2010 AT BOTTOM

Patrick Kennedy, son of the late Ted Kennedy, Rhode Island Congressman and last of the Kennedy clan in public office, recently announced that he would not seek re-election. If Joseph P. Kennedy III decided not to run or ran and lost, it would be the first time in over half a century that a Kennedy didn’t occupy a seat in Congress.

Joseph P. Kennedy III is an assistant DA on Cape Cod, a graduate of Stanford and Harvard Law School. Of course beating a Kennedy in Massachusetts is no easy thing, and anyone running for the vacated seat would have to really think it through were Joseph P. Kennedy III to enter the race. However, the political climate in the country and Massachusetts for that matter is totally different than it was just a year ago.

The legacy of the Kennedy name would be on the line even greater than it was in the Scott Brown election. No Kennedy has ever lost an election in Massachusetts, something the young grandson of RFK would no doubt consider before taking the plunge.

If Joseph P. Kennedy III runs for Congress, he would instantly become a huge target for Conservatives and Republicans determined to sweep back into power in the 2010 general election in November. In any other year besides this one I’d say he was a shoe in. This year, all bets are off.

UPDATE: On Sunday, Joseph P. Kennedy III announced that he would not run for Congress. He stated to the AP that he wanted to keep his job as a prosecutor on Cape Cod.

I suppose the thought of being the first Kennedy to lose an election in Massachusetts was just too overwhelming to handle.