United States Senate special election in Massachusetts, 1962

United States Senate special election in Massachusetts, 1962

November 6, 1962

Nominee Ted Kennedy George C. Lodge Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,162,611 877,668 Percentage 55.44% 41.85%

Senator before election Benjamin A. Smith II Democratic Elected Senator Ted Kennedy Democratic

The United States Senate special election of 1962 in Massachusetts was held on November 6, 1962.

History

Senator John F. Kennedy resigned the seat to become President of the United States after winning the presidential election in 1960. Benjamin A. Smith II, a Kennedy family friend, was appointed to succeed Kennedy, serving as a placeholder for Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy, who at the time was too young to be constitutionally eligible for the seat.^[1]

Ted Kennedy first faced a Democratic Party primary challenge from Edward J. "Eddie" McCormack, Jr., the state Attorney General. Kennedy's slogan was "He can do more for Massachusetts", the same one John had used in his first campaign for the seat ten years earlier.^[2] McCormack had the support of many liberals and intellectuals, who thought Kennedy inexperienced ("I back Jack but Teddy ain't ready") and knew of his suspension from Harvard, a fact which subsequently became public during the race.^[3] Kennedy also faced the notion that with one brother President and another U.S. Attorney General, "Don't you think that Teddy is one Kennedy too many?"^[1] But Kennedy proved to be an effective street-level campaigner.^[1] In a televised debate, McCormack said "The office of United States senator should be merited, and not inherited," and said that if his opponent's name was Edward Moore rather than Edward Moore Kennedy, his candidacy "would be a joke."^[3] Voters thought McCormack's performance overbearing; combined with the family political machine's finally getting fully behind him, Kennedy won the September 1962 primary by a two-to-one margin.^[1]

In the Republican primary, George C. Lodge, a former member of the Eisenhower administration and the son of Henry Cabot Lodge, defeated Representative Laurence Curtis (MA-10). Harvard historian H. Stuart Hughes also ran for the Senate seat as an independent peace candidate. ^[4]

In the November special election, Kennedy defeated Lodge, whose father had lost this seat to then-Representative John F. Kennedy in 1952. In winning, Kennedy gained 55 percent of the vote.^[1][5]

Results

Primaries

Democratic primary for the United States Senate special election in Massachusetts, 1962

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy	559,303	69.33
	Democratic	Edward J. McCormack, Jr.	247,403	30.67
Majority
Turnout

Source: Our Campaigns - MA US Senate - D Primary Race - Sep 18, 1962

Republican primary for the United States Senate special election in Massachusetts, 1962 ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	George Cabot Lodge	244,921	55.49
	Republican	Laurence Curtis	196,444	44.51

General election

United States Senate special election in Massachusetts, 1962

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy	1,162,611	55.44
	Republican	George Cabot Lodge II	877,668	41.85
	Independent	H. Stuart Hughes	50,013	2.38
	Socialist Labor	Lawrence Gilfedder	5,330	0.25
	Prohibition	Mark R. Shaw	1,439	0.07
Majority
Turnout
	Democratic hold

Source:^[6]

References

1. "Teddy & Kennedyism". Time. 1962-09-28. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
2. Barone, Michael; Cohen, Richard E. (2008). The Almanac of American Politics. Washington: National Journal Group. p. 791. ISBN 0-89234-117-3.
3. Swidey, Neil (2009-02-16). "Chapter 2: The Youngest Brother: Turbulence and tragedies eclipse early triumphs". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2009-02-24.
4. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=24510
5. "Edward Kennedy (Dem)". The Washington Times. 2006-05-05.
6. http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1962election.pdf