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Kennedy: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Whitmore: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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Elections in Massachusetts |
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Massachusettsportal |
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.
Senator Kennedy was unopposed for renomination.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Ted Kennedy (incumbent) | 608,791 | 99.99 | |
Write-in | All others | 32 | 0.01 | |
Total votes | 608,823 | 100.00 |
Whitmore was unopposed for the Republican nomination.
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% |
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 |
The 1970 United States Senate elections was an election for the United States Senate. It took place on November 3, with the 33 seats of Class 1 contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. These races occurred in the middle of Richard Nixon's first term as president. The Democrats lost a net of three seats, while the Republicans and the Conservative Party of New York picked up one net seat each, and former Democrat Harry F. Byrd Jr. was re-elected as an independent.
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The 1964 United States Senate elections were held on November 3. The 33 seats of Class 1 were contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. They coincided with the election of President Lyndon B. Johnson by an overwhelming majority, to a full term. His Democratic Party picked up a net two seats from the Republicans. As of 2023, this was the last time either party has had a two-thirds majority in the Senate, which allowed the Senate Democrats to override a veto, propose constitutional amendments, or convict and expel certain officials without any votes from Senate Republicans. However, internal divisions would have prevented the Democrats from having done so. The Senate election cycle coincided with Democratic gains in the House in the same year.
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