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1964 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

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1964 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

← 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%

Kennedy:      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

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

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Candidates

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Results

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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

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Candidates

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Results

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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

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Candidates

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  • 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

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1964 U.S. Senate election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Ted Kennedy (incumbent) 1,716,907 74.26 Increase21.30
Republican Howard J. Whitmore Jr. 587,663 25.42 Decrease19.08
Socialist Labor Lawrence Gilfedder 4,745 0.21 Decrease0.03
Prohibition Grace F. Luder 2,700 0.12 Increase0.05
Write-in All others 13 0.00
Total votes 1,202,856 100.00

See also

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References

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Notes

Sources