A week before his death, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy asked Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick to find a way to appoint someone 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? Click through to see some of the political figures who might be appointed or elected to Kennedy's vacant seat.