A week before his death, Senator Edward M. Kennedy asked Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick to find a way to appoint someon to take his place in the event of his death--an action that has been forbidden by Massachusetts law since 2004, when Democratic state senators changed the system to keep appointments out of the hands of then-Governor Mitt Romney.
Some state senators have signaled support for such a move, which would allow Patrick to appoint an interim senator. But who would this interim senator be?