Sept. 4 (Bloomberg) -- A second Democratic officeholder in Massachusetts is moving to enter the race to succeed Edward Kennedy in the U.S. Senate, not waiting for the late senator’s nephew, Joseph Kennedy II, to say whether he will run.

Representative Stephen Lynch, a Boston Democrat, sent an aide to take out nomination papers this morning for the Jan. 19 special election, according to Brian McNiff, spokesman for Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin.

“This is the first step, and over the next week or so I will finalize my plans,” Lynch said in an e-mailed statement. “The seriousness and urgency of this decision is compounded by the untimely passing of my friend and colleague, Senator Ted Kennedy, and by the momentous challenges that lie ahead for our commonwealth and our country.”

Attorney General Martha Coakley, 56, announced her candidacy yesterday, saying in an interview that “this decision is so important it should be decided by the voters on the merits, not on the last name.”

Joseph Kennedy, a former congressman also 56, hasn’t spoken publicly since an Aug. 28 memorial ceremony for his uncle at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum, where he asked the audience to rededicate themselves to public service.

He would bring to the contest his famous name, as well as a $2 million funding head start for the five-month campaign, according to John Sasso, a Democratic consultant for the presidential campaigns of Massachusetts Senator John Kerry in 2004 and former Governor Michael Dukakis in 1988.

High Favorability

Kennedy, the founder of Citizens Energy Corp., a Boston- based non-profit group that assists low-income residents, also topped the field in a March survey of favorability ratings, scoring 67 percent compared with 56 percent for Coakley.

Kennedy’s mark was “unbelievable,” especially since it was taken in a down economy when people lean toward a dim view of politicians, pollster David Paleologos of Boston’s Suffolk University said in an interview today.

In the survey of 400 Massachusetts voters, Kennedy did well with older voters and union members, Paleologos said. The influence of these two groups is magnified in this cycle because the primary is Dec. 8, at a time of year when other voter groups may show a drop in participation, he said.

Only three of the 400 surveyed said they would like to see Kennedy’s widow, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, run.

Lynch, 54, a former ironworker who earned a degree from Boston College Law School, is positioned as the more conservative of other Democrats who may be running, according to Tufts University political scientist Jeffrey Berry.

Split Vote?

The more liberals who get into the race and split the vote, the more Lynch’s chances improve, although he starts with relatively low name recognition, Berry said.

While Berry says Coakley has high name recognition and the ability to raise funds, the candidate said yesterday she starts “with zero” money because her state campaign kitty can’t be used in a federal race.

Martin Meehan, a former Democratic congressman now chancellor of the University Massachusetts in Lowell, said in an interview he’ll decide by the end of this week whether to run.

Other possible contenders are Democratic Representatives Michael Capuano, Edward Markey, James McGovern and William Delahunt. On the Republican side, there is former Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey.

Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, a registered independent who supported Republican John McCain’s presidential bid last year, said he is considering a run.

Sending a Democrat from Massachusetts would preserve the party’s 60-vote majority in the Senate, the minimum needed to end debate and force action on legislation such as health-care overhaul, President Barack Obama’s top priority.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick is working with lawmakers to change a state law and allow him to appoint an interim senator to serve before the election decides who will serve out Kennedy’s term which runs through 2012.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tom Moroney in Boston at tmorrone@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 4, 2009 16:38 EDT