1966 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

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1966 United States Senate election in Massachusetts
Flag of Massachusetts (1908-1971).svg
←  1960 November 8, 1966 1972  →
  Edward W. Brooke.png Endicott Peabody (10290505454).jpg
Nominee Edward Brooke Endicott Peabody
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote1,213,473774,761
Percentage60.68%38.74%
1966 United States Senate Election in Massachusetts by County.svg
1966 United States Senate Election in Massachusetts by Town.svg
U.S. senator before election

Leverett Saltonstall
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Edward Brooke
Republican

The 1966 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held on November 8, 1966. Republican incumbent Leverett Saltonstall retired after serving for 22 years. Republican Massachusetts Attorney General Edward Brooke defeated Democratic former Governor of Massachusetts Endicott Peabody in a landslide.

Contents

Brooke was the first African-American U.S. Senator elected after the end of Reconstruction and the first ever popularly elected, as Reconstruction ended before the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. This election marked the first time since Reconstruction in 1874 that an African-American was elected to the United States Senate and Edward Brooke's inauguration was the first time since 1881 that an African-American United States senator held a United States Senate seat.

Republican primary

Candidates

Declined

Campaign

MacKay campaigned against Brooke for refusing to back Barry Goldwater's 1964 presidential campaign. During the first stage of the campaign, conservative spokespersons engaged in an anti-Brooke publicity and letter-writing campaign. [3] Conservatives were particularly critical of Brooke's book, The Challenge of Change. A critical review of the book was mailed to all Republican convention delegates along with a questionnaire linking Brooke's views to the Communist Party and Americans for Democratic Action. A third mailing went out accusing Brooke of participating in "the phony Great Society schemes of L.B.J. and his curious crew." [3]

However, conservative attacks were blunted when Goldwater endorsed Brooke in May and made a $100 donation to his campaign. [1] [3] Brooke also received the support of George W. Romney, a leading contender for the presidency in 1968. [3]

In advance of the convention, Brooke asked the party to endorse the United States effort in Vietnam and the recent Supreme Court decision regarding the rights of detainees in Miranda v. Arizona . McKay argued for a more aggressive bombing campaign in Southeast Asia and criticized Miranda as "rendering more difficult the proper enforcement of our laws." [2]

Results

Brooke won the party endorsement at the June 25 convention and was unopposed in the September primary. [1]

1966 Republican state convention [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Edward W. Brooke 1,485 87.35%
Republican J. Alan MacKay21512.65%
Total votes1,700 100.00%

Following the result, which precluded MacKay from seeking a primary challenge, Brooke declared, "This is a proud moment in my life, a moment which has no parallel." [4]

Democratic primary

Democratic primary runner-up John F. Collins campaigning Mayor John F. Collins and Mary Collins at a Senate campaign event (13242861794).jpg
Democratic primary runner-up John F. Collins campaigning

Candidates

Results

1966 Democratic U.S. Senate primary
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Endicott Peabody 320,967 50.35%
Democratic John F. Collins 265,01641.85%
Democratic Thomas Boylston Adams 51,4358.07%
Total votes637,418 100.00%

General election

Candidates

Results

General election
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Edward Brooke 1,213,473 60.68% Increase2.svg4.49
Democratic Endicott Peabody 774,76138.74%Decrease2.svg4.72
Socialist Labor Lawrence Gilfedder6,7900.34%Increase2.svg0.10
Prohibition Mark R. Shaw 4,8330.24%Increase2.svg0.12
Total votes1,999,857 100.00%

See also

Related Research Articles

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Edward William Brooke III was an American lawyer and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1967 to 1979. A member of the Republican Party, he was the first African American elected to the United States Senate by popular vote. Prior to serving in the Senate, he served as the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 1963 until 1967. Edward Brooke was the first African-American since Reconstruction in 1874 to have been elected to the United States Senate and he was the first African-American United States senator since 1881 to have held a United States Senate seat. Edward Brooke was also the first African-American United States senator ever to have been re-elected to the United States Senate.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Rudin, Ken (June 25, 2010). "Flashback Friday: On This Day In 1966, Mass. GOP Backs Ed Brooke For Senate". NPR.com.
  2. 1 2 "Brooke Asks GOP Endorse Viet Nam Effort" . The Boston Globe . June 16, 1966. p. 6. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Editorial: Backlash Against Brooke" . The Berkshire Eagle . June 25, 1966. p. 18. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  4. 1 2 Crepeau, Frank (June 27, 1966). "Volpe Calls Ticket the Best GOP Slate in Many, Many Years" . Transcript-Telegram. Boston. Associated Press. p. 16. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  5. ↑ Lawrence Gilfedder at ourcampaigns.com
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