1964 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

(Redirected from United States Senate election in Massachusetts, 1964)

For related races, see 1964 United States Senate elections.

← 1962 (special)

November 3, 1964

1970 →


Nominee	Ted Kennedy	Howard J. Whitmore Jr.
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	1,716,907	587,663
Percentage	74.26%	25.42%

County results

Municipality resultsKennedy: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%
Whitmore: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%

U.S. senator before election

Ted Kennedy
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Ted Kennedy
Democratic

Elections in
Massachusetts

General

Federal government

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U.S. Senate
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State government

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Ballot measures
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Boston

Mayor
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City council
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Springfield

Mayor
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Worcester

Mayor
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Massachusetts portal

The 1964 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held on November 3, 1964, with the incumbent Democratic senator, Ted Kennedy, easily defeating his Republican challenger Howard J. Whitmore Jr.

The election coincided with the 1964 United States presidential election, which was won by incumbent Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson in a landslide, as well as the Senate election in neighboring New York which was won by Kennedy's older brother Robert. It took place less than a year after the assassination of the incumbent Senator's eldest surviving brother, President John F. Kennedy. 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

Ted Kennedy, incumbent Senator since 1962

Results

Senator Kennedy was unopposed for renomination.

1964 Democratic U.S. Senate primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ted Kennedy (incumbent)	608,791	99.99
	Write-in	All others	32	0.01
Total votes			608,823	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

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

Results

Whitmore was unopposed for the Republican nomination.

1964 Republican U.S. Senate primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Howard J. Whitmore Jr.	172,078	99.95%
	Write-in	All others	86	0.05%
Total votes			172,164	100.00%

General election

Candidates

Lawrence Gilfedder, perennial candidate (Socialist Workers)
Ted Kennedy, 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

1964 U.S. Senate election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Ted Kennedy (incumbent)	1,716,907	74.26	21.30
	Republican	Howard J. Whitmore Jr.	587,663	25.42	19.08
	Socialist Labor	Lawrence Gilfedder	4,745	0.21	0.03
	Prohibition	Grace F. Luder	2,700	0.12	0.05
	Write-in	All others	13	0.00
Total votes			2,312,028	100.00

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

v t e (1963 ←) 1964 United States elections (→ 1965)
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v t e Federal elections in Massachusetts
U.S. President	1788 1792 1796 1800 1804 1808 1812 1816 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
U.S. Senate Class 1	1803 1808 1839 1851 1857 1863 1869 1887 1893 1899 1905 1911 1916 1922 s/1926 1928 1934 1940 1946 1952 1958 s/1962 1964 1970 1976 1982 1988 1994 2000 2006 s/2010 2012 2018 2024
U.S. Senate Class 2	s/1855 1859 1865 1871 s/1873 1877 1883 1889 1895 1901 1907 1913 1918 1924 1930 1936 1942 s/1944 1948 1954 1960 1966 1972 1978 1984 1990 1996 2002 2008 s/2013 2014 2020
U.S. House	1788–89 1790–92 1792-93 1794–95 1796–97 1798–99 1800–01 1802–03 1804 1806 1808 1810–11 1812–13 1814–15 1816–17 1818–19 1820–21 1822–23 1824–25 1826–27 1828 1830–1970 1972 1974–2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
U.S. House Special Elections	1796–1797 s/1st s/10th s/11th 1800–1801 s/3rd s/4th s/10th s/4th s/12th s/14th 1804 s/12th 1807 s/12th 1808 s/2nd 1810–1811 s/10th s/11th s/4th 1812 s/17th 1814–1815 s/4th s/12th s/3rd 1816–1817 s/11th s/1st 1818 s/20th 1820 s/1st s/8th s/13th 1823 s/10th 1824 s/10th 1827 s/1st 1834–1991 listed here 2001 s/9th 2007 s/5th 2013 s/5th
"s/" = Special election See also: Political party strength in Massachusetts For statewide elections, see Template:State elections in Massachusetts footer.

v t e Ted Kennedy
February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009 United States Senator from Massachusetts, 1962–2009
Electoral history	U.S. Senate elections in Massachusetts: 1962 (special) 1964 1970 1976 1982 1988 1994 2000 2006 1980 United States presidential election (Democratic primaries) Ted Kennedy 1980 presidential campaign
Books	My Senator and Me: A Dog's-Eye View of Washington, D.C. (2006) True Compass (2009)
Speeches	The Dream Shall Never Die
Family, family tree	Joan Bennett Kennedy (first wife) Victoria Reggie Kennedy (second wife, widow) Kara Kennedy (daughter) Edward M. Kennedy Jr. (son) Patrick J. Kennedy II (son) Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. (father) Rose Kennedy (mother) Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. (brother) John F. Kennedy (brother presidency) Rosemary Kennedy (sister) Kathleen Kennedy (sister) Eunice Kennedy Shriver (sister) Patricia Kennedy Lawford (sister) Robert F. Kennedy (brother) Jean Kennedy Smith (sister) Patrick J. Kennedy I (grandfather) John F. Fitzgerald (grandfather)
Related	Awards and honors Political positions Kennedy Compound Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act Chappaquiddick incident Mary Jo Kopechne Friends of Ireland Chappaquiddick (2018 film)
Category

Categories:

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

General election

Candidates

Results

See also

External links

References