People in this state are lemmings.

(Boston Herald) — Joseph P. Kennedy III’s famous family ties have handed him a huge early lead in the race to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, a new UMass Lowell/Boston Herald poll reveals.

Kennedy, the son of former U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II, trounces Republican Sean Bielat in a general election trial heat by a 60-28 percent margin, even though the Brookline Democrat has yet to officially announce his campaign, the poll shows.

The UMass Lowell/Herald poll — the first to test the younger Kennedy’s appeal in the newly configured 4th Congressional District — shows no evidence of “Kennedy fatigue.” More than two years after the death of U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, nearly three quarters of voters in the district have a favorable opinion of the Kennedy family — including 42 percent of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents.