Why did Martha Coakley run for the US Senate in the 2010 Special Election the first place?
Martha Coakley's higher political ambition was or is to be Governor of MA- either by challenging Deval Patrick in the Democratic Primary in 2010 or suceed him in 2014- when Patrick decides to step down to pursue other opportunities.
Martha Coakley-D could have saved MA the aggravation of dealing with Scott Brown-R, had she not run for the US Senate.
This would have allowed MA Democrats to have a wide open primary between US Reps Ed Markey or Mike Capuano (both would be front runners in the Democratic Primary). The General Election against then State Senator Scott Brown-R would have been closer than expected but either (Markey or Capuano) would have won in the General Election. Brown-R would have then challenged (Markey or Capuano-D) in 2012 rematch- in which Brown-R would have lost by a wider margin due to (Markey or Capuano-D incumbency advantage) and Obama-D coattails in MA. Coakley-D on the other had could have sought re-election as MA Attorney General in 2010, then in 2014- run for Governor of MA.
Would that individual become interim governor of the state or would Patrick appoint someone else should he decided to appoint himself to the purported open seat of Kerry's? I'm not familiar with MA state political offices. Does MA law allow the governor to appoint a successor? I'm asking this because Patrick has stated he isn't going to run for a third term.