AP Photo/ Elise Amendola
Vicki Kennedy, left, applauds with Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, right, as she endorses Coakley in Medford, Mass. Thursday.

By GLEN JOHNSON
AP Political Writer

MEDFORD, Mass. (AP) -- Edward Kennedy's widow has formally endorsed Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley in the race for her late husband's U.S. Senate seat.

Vicki Kennedy threw her support behind Coakley on Thursday at a Kennedy-esque event: A brass band entertained a crowd of senior citizens with "Hello Dolly" and other show tunes.

Kennedy says Coakley would continue the "world-class" representation provided by her late husband.

She was joined at the event by interim Massachusetts Sen. Paul Kirk and the late senator's nephew, former Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II.

Coakley faces Republican Scott Brown and independent candidate Joseph L. Kennedy - no relation to the famed political family - in the Jan. 19 election.

Vicki Kennedy had issued a statement of support for Coakley after the primary.