In this series, wowOwow follows the political news swirling around Caroline Kennedy since her surprise endorsement of Barack Obama and high-profile placement on his VP selection committee. Could Caroline be ready to launch a political career of her own? With The Caroline Kennedy Candidacy Watch, we’ll follow all the latest news. We welcome insider insight and tips; please email carolinewatch@wowowow.com. 

Since starting the Caroline Kennedy Candidacy Watch, we’ve been bombarded with leads and alerts and asides and innuendo. Now that Obama is the nation’s president-elect, the latest buzz is that Kennedy may be tapped to replace Hillary Clinton in the Senate. The New York Democrat and former First Lady was nominated this week by Obama to be his secretary of state.

Sorry, it won’t be Bill Clinton taking her spot.

Last month, the rumor was that Kennedy may have been selected to be the ambassador to the United Nations. But foreign-policy adviser Susan Rice got that post.

With Clinton set to vacate her Senate seat, it’s up to New York Gov. David Paterson to select her replacement. Whoever is chosen will have to run in a special election in 2010 to finish out the last two years of Clinton’s term.  In our scouring of the Web for the latest gossip, it turns out Kennedy may be a favorite to fill that seat. There are reports that Kennedy is definitely “in the mix.”

It helps that Paterson is said to be favoring either a woman or a non-white candidate for the post.

"This is not an election. This is not a campaign. It’s a constituency of one. David Paterson. It’s all about what the governor wants to do," political analyst Stuart Rothenberg, editor and publisher of The Rothenberg Political Report, told CNN. "Paterson has said he would prefer someone from upstate New York, or a woman or an Hispanic candidate.”

But not everybody’s happy with the prospect of another Kennedy in the Senate.

“Do we really need to keep filling Senate seats with selections from this dynasty?” asks Eve Fairbanks of The New Republic’s The Stump blog. “After being diagnosed with a malignant glioma, Ted Kennedy telegraphed his desire to see his wife take over the Massachusetts Senate seat he’s held for 46 years if, God forbid, he dies. Can’t we give some non-Kennedy families a chance at these seats?”

Kennedy is somewhat related to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo – currently the top favorite as Clinton’s replacement. Cuomo was married to Mary Kerry Kennedy, the daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, for 13 years until their divorce in 2003. The name of Caroline Kennedy’s cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has also been swirling around the Web as a possible Senate contender. That is, unless he’s not chosen by Obama to head up the Environmental Protection Agency. That Kennedy called Paterson Tuesday morning to tell him he’s not interested in the Senate job.

“I have spent time talking with my uncle, by brothers, my cousin and, of course, my wife. And I think I’m in a good position right now doing what I’m doing," RFK Jr. told The New York Times. "Right now, I’m trying to help move the country in the transition from oil dependency to renewables … I really enjoy my advocacy work. I am doing things right now that I truly enjoy and that I feel are really making a difference.”