Will Ted Kennedy Jr. replace Lieberman?

BOSTON, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- Friends of Ted Kennedy Jr. said he may run in 2012 for the seat being vacated by Connecticut U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman.

The potential candidate, 49, the middle child of the late U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and his former wife, Joan, runs a law firm in New York City and is an activist for the disabled.

Kennedy lost a leg to cancer when he was 12.

"No one knew Lieberman would be getting out. I think Teddy would be the odds-on favorite were he to enter the race. But I don't know if this is the right time for him," a Kennedy friend told Thursday's Boston Herald.

Kennedy's inspiring eulogy at his father's funeral in 2009 prompted observers to focus on him for public office, the Herald said.

Susan Bysiewicz, a former Democratic Connecticut secretary of state, said this week she would run and a recent poll indicated she would beat Kennedy in a primary.

Other potential candidates include Democratic U.S. Reps. Chris Murphy and Joe Courtney, both D-Conn., and Republican Linda McMahon, who lost a 2010 Senate election.