It is a historic first that a member of the Kennedy family has lost an election in Massachusetts. A local expert says it could be indicative of the times.

39-year-old Rpresentative Joseph Kennedy III is the grandson of former U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy.

Late President John Kennedy and late Senator Ted Kennedy were his great uncles.

Political science professor Anthony Dell'aera says as younger voters emerge onto the scene, there is less memory of what the Kennedy family has meant in politics.

Dell'aera said, "There is certainly awareness, but there distant stories. It has been quite a long while since senator ted Kennedy passed away it was sort of the last vestige of that link to the earlier Kennedy years. So among younger voters I think there just learning now what some of that legacy has been about."

Dell'aera says beyond the story line, this doesn't hurt Kennedy's future if he wishes to stay in politics, saying he has a number of options.