The 1964 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held on November 3, 1964, with the incumbent Democratic senator,

Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1962 to his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party and ...

, easily defeating his Republican challenger Howard J. Whitmore Jr. The election coincided with the

1964 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 1964, less than a year following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, who won the previous presidential election. The Democratic Party (U ...

, which was won by incumbent Democrat

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

in a landslide, as well as the Senate election in neighboring New York which was won by Kennedy's older brother

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

. It took place less than a year after the assassination of the incumbent Senator's eldest surviving brother,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

. The two surviving Kennedy brothers thus benefited from both an overall national swing to the Democrats and public sympathy following their sibling's murder. Much of the campaign-appearance burden in Massachusetts on behalf of Ted Kennedy fell on his wife, Joan, because of Ted's serious back injury in a plane crash. Ted Kennedy recorded his highest-ever percentage of the vote in this election, although he won a larger margin of victory against divided opposition in 2000.

Democratic primary

Candidates

, incumbent Senator since 1962

Results

Senator Kennedy was unopposed for renomination.

Republican primary

Candidates

* Howard J. Whitmore Jr., former State Representative and mayor of Newton

Results

Whitmore was unopposed for the Republican nomination.

General election

Candidates

* Lawrence Gilfedder, perennial candidate (Socialist Workers) *

, incumbent Senator since 1962 (Democratic) * Grace F. Luder, candidate for Congress in 1950 and 1952 (Prohibition) * Howard J. Whitmore Jr., former State Representative and mayor of Newton (Republican)

Results

External links

Race details
at ourcampaigns.com

References

Notes
Sources
Campaigning from a Hospital Bed
Recordings of Telephone Calls between Edward Kennedy and President Lyndon Johnson during the 1964 campaign {{Ted Kennedy Mas

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

1964 Massachusetts elections Ted Kennedy

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

General election

Candidates

Results

See also

External links

References