"Mo" Cowan sworn in as U.S. Senator

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - Kerry is out and "Mo" Cowan is officially in.

He was sworn in Thursday.

His time in Washington will be short but it's uncertain what kind of impact his short tenure will have on our state.

Massachusetts officially has a new U.S. Senator.

William "Mo" Cowan was sworn in as Interim Senator to replace John Kerry who resigned to become Secretary of State.

Cowan's tenure will be brief. He'll only fill the seat until Massachusetts voters pick a permanent replacement on June 25th.

Now, the question is, what can we expect from Cowan during his time in office.

"I don't think an Interim Senator is going to help us much. No power at all and you never know which way he's going to vote," said Agawam's David Bouchard.

Springfield College Professor Thomas Carty is optimistic.

"This is a person who brings a lot of stature and experience but doesn't have the seniority so this will be an interesting period where we're not sure of the impact but certainly it will bring the state a lot of attention, especially when the election comes up," Carty said.

Cowan has already said he will not run for the seat in June.

Some people say whether its an interim Senator or a permanent replacement, they just want Western Massachusetts included in their decision making.

"My only concern of any Senator is really what they're looking for and what they're going to do for Western Massachusetts particularly," said Springfield's Rosemarie Gross.

Congressmen Ed Markey and Stephen Lynch have said they will run for the seat.

A number of republicans have said they will not run including former Sen. Scott Brown and former Governor Bill Weld.