text: Hearing set on replacing Kennedy | The Spokesman-Review
  Hearing set on replacing Kennedy
  •Vicki Kennedy: While family aides have said she is not interested in replacing her husband, the senator's widow has not publicly taken herself out of the running.
  •Joseph P. Kennedy II: The late senator's nephew is a former U.S. representative.
  •Martha Coakley: The state attorney general and a Democrat, she would be the first woman elected to the Senate from Massachusetts.
  •Several members of Massachusetts' all-Democratic congressional delegation have also been mentioned, including Reps. Stephen Lynch, Michael Capuano and Edward Markey.
  BOSTON – The push to name a successor to the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy gained momentum Monday, with state lawmakers scheduling a hearing on whether to allow an appointee to serve until a special election in January.
  Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick also said Monday that Kennedy's widow, Vicki Kennedy, told him she does not want to be appointed as an interim replacement.
  Patrick said he has heard from top Democrats in Washington, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., both of whom support the change allowing an appointee. Senate Democrats say they need as many votes as they can during the debate on health care.