1962 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts

none March 2026 September 2023 1962 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts Massachusetts 81.37% (registered voters)Election Statistics 45 1908 presidential no 1958 United States Senate election in Massachusetts 1958 1964 United States Senate election in Massachusetts 1964 November 6, 1962 150x150px Edward Kennedy (2).jpg Ted Kennedy Democratic Party (United States) 1,162,611 55.44% File:1962 Senate campaign photo.jpg George C. Lodge Republican Party (United States) 877,668 41.85% 300px County results 300px| Municipality results 1 250px Kennedy: #A5B0FF 40–50% #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80% Lodge: #FFB2B2 40–50% #E27F7F 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% #D72F30 70–80% #C21B18 80–90% U.S. Senator Benjamin A. Smith II Democratic Party (United States) Ted Kennedy Democratic Party (United States) The 1962 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts was held on November 6, 1962. Ted Kennedy, the youngest brother of then-President John F. Kennedy, defeated George C. Lodge, the son of President Kennedy's predecessor, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. Ted Kennedy remained a senator for 47 years, until his death in 2009. As of , Kennedy's and Lodge's combined age of 65 remains the youngest for two major candidates in a U.S. Senate election. With Harvard University professor H. Stuart Hughes, the grandson of Charles Evans Hughes, running a serious independent campaign, this election featured three of America's most prominent political families. Background Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts, a member of the Democratic Party, was elected President of the United States in November 1960. At the same time, Republicans John Volpe and Leverett Saltonstall carried Massachusetts in the elections for governor and U.S. Senate, respectively. Under the Seventeenth Amendment, the sitting state governor has the authority to temporarily fill vacancies in the Senate as soon as they arise. With Volpe scheduled to take office on January 5, 1961, the Kennedy family was compelled to engage in time-sensitive negotiations with incumbent governor Foster Furcolo about Kennedy's Senate successor. Furcolo initially hoped to appoint himself to Kennedy's vacant seat. He was dissuaded from that under strong pressure from the Kennedys, who believed he would lose the seat in the upcoming special election. The president-elect was not only keen to maintain a Democratic presence from his home state in the Senate but under strong pressure from his father, Joe, to ensure the seat remained within the family. With a strong Democratic majority in the Senate assured in any case, the Kennedys made clear to Furcolo that they would be content to challenge whoever Volpe might have appointed to the seat in 1962 and in any event would not support any election bid by Furcolo. It was initially speculated that Kennedy's brother Robert F. Kennedy, who had managed the presidential campaign and was the only Kennedy brother old enough to serve in the Senate, would be the family's choice. But at Joe Kennedy's insistence, and to some controversy, the president-elect nominated Robert for Attorney General of the United States. Joe Kennedy wanted his fourth son, Ted, to get the Senate seat, despite being too young. So the president-elect resigned from the Senate on December 22 and Furcolo appointed Gloucester mayor Benjamin A. Smith II, a friend and roommate of the late Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., to serve as a placeholder. Teddy & Kennedyism http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,940066,00.html https://archive.today/20130204190352/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,940066,00.html dead February 4, 2013 1962-09-28 2008-05-23 Time Democratic primary Candidates Declared Ted Kennedy, younger brother of President John F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy Edward J. McCormack Jr., Massachusetts Attorney General and nephew of U.S. House speaker John W. McCormack Declined Benjamin A. Smith II, incumbent Senator Campaign Ted Kennedy first faced a Democratic Party primary challenge from Edward J. McCormack Jr., the state Attorney General and nephew of speaker of the U.S. House John W. McCormack. 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, which was publicized during the race.http://archive.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2009/02/16/chapter_2_the_youngest_brother/ Chapter 2: The Youngest Brother: Turbulence and tragedies eclipse early triumphs Swidey, Neil The Boston Globe 2009-02-16 2009-02-24 Kennedy's slogan was "He can do more for Massachusetts", the same one John Kennedy had used in his first campaign for the seat ten years earlier.The Almanac of American Politics Barone Michael Michael Barone (pundit) Richard E. Cohen Cohen Richard E. 2008 National Journal Group Washington 978-0-89234-117-7 791 Some asked whether with one brother the president and another the Attorney General, "Don't you think that Teddy is one Kennedy too many?". But Ted was an effective street-level campaigner. In a televised debate, McCormack said, "The office of United States senator should be merited and not inherited", and that if his opponent's name had been Edward Moore rather than Edward Moore Kennedy his candidacy "would be a joke". A Kennedy supporter said, "McCormack was able to make a millionaire an underdog". With the public's sympathy and the family political machine, Kennedy won 69% of the vote in the September primary.cnioverr Convention A delegate at the state Democratic convention said, "He's completely unqualified and inexperienced. And I'm going to be with him." Kennedy won on the first ballot at the convention.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7sobAAAAIBAJ&sjid=108EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6723%2C1480259 The Pittsburgh Press Eaton William J. Chicago Daily News Charm And Image Overcame Errors As "Prince" Rose Rapidly to Senate June 18, 1968 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 17 Results 1962 U.S. Senate special Democratic primaryElection Statistics 155 Democratic Party (United States) Ted Kennedy 559,303 69.33% Democratic Party (United States) Edward J. McCormack, Jr. 247,403 30.67% 26 0.00% 806,732 100.00% Blank votes None 28,607 3.42% 835,339 Republican primary Candidates Laurence Curtis, U.S. representative from Newton George C. Lodge, U.S. assistant Secretary of Labor for international affairs and son of former U.S. senator Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. Results 1962 U.S. Senate special Republican primaryElection Statistics 53 Republican Party (United States) George C. Lodge 244,921 55.49 Republican Party (United States) Laurence Curtis 196,444 44.51 35 0.01% 441,400 100.00% Blank votes None 17,025 3.71% 458,425 General election Candidates Lawrence Gilfedder, perennial candidate (Socialist) H. Stuart Hughes, Harvard University historian and grandson of Charles Evans Hugheshttp://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=24510 Our Campaigns - MA US Senate - R Primary Race - Sep 18, 1962 (Independent) Ted Kennedy, brother of President John F. Kennedy (Democratic) George C. Lodge, Assistant U.S. Secretary of Labor and son of former Senator Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (Republican) Mark R. Shaw, perennial candidate (Prohibition) Campaign Well aware that he was also from a political family, and not much older than Kennedy, Lodge avoided making the sort of attacks McCormack had. Besides Kennedy and Lodge, independent candidate H. Stuart Hughes was considered a serious contender and invited to two televised debates with Lodge. (Kennedy, by then the overwhelming favorite, declined to participate.) Any chance Hughes might have had of winning the election, or even receiving widespread support, was destroyed in the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis weeks before the election, in which the president and his brother Robert took the nation "to the brink" of nuclear confrontation with the Soviet Union. Hughes, who supported nuclear disarmament, suddenly seemed unrealistic and out of touch. He received just over 2% of the vote, and far fewer votes than signatures.August 2020 Results In the general election, Kennedy defeated Lodge with 55% of the vote. Lodge's father had lost the same seat to then-Representative John F. Kennedy in 1952.Edward Kennedy (Dem) The Washington Times 2006-05-05 Political science professor Murray Levin said Kennedy's youth and political inexperience made him an innocent outsider, while his wealth made him incorruptible. The prosecutor had become a senator, Levin said, "with one year of frantic campaigning and 30 years of experience as a Kennedy".cnioverr 1962 U.S. Senate special election in MassachusettsStatistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 1962 https://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1962election.pdf Clerk of the House of Representatives 17Election Statistics 271 Democratic Party (United States) Ted Kennedy 1,162,611 55.44% 17.76 Republican Party (United States) George C. Lodge 877,669 41.85% 15.62 Independent (politician) H. Stuart Hughes 50,013 2.38% N/A Socialist Labor Party of America Lawrence Gilfedder 5,330 0.25% 0.04 Prohibition Party Mark R. Shaw 1,439 0.07% 0.22 23 0.00% 2,097,061 100.00% Blank votes None 49,966 2.33% 2,144,051 81.37% Democratic Party (United States) Republican Party (United States) References Primary sources https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/43454 Election Statistics: The Commonwealth of Massachusetts (1962) Office of Secretary of the Commonwealth Kevin H. White 1962 July 28, 2026 Election Statistics Massachusetts 1962 Massachusetts 1962 Senate Massachusetts United States Senate 1962 Category:Ted Kennedy