1958 United States Senate election in Massachusetts explained

Election Name:1958 United States Senate election in Massachusetts
Country:Massachusetts
Flag Year:1908
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:1952 United States Senate election in Massachusetts
Previous Year:1952
Next Election:1962 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts
Next Year:1962 (special)
Election Date:November 4, 1958
Image1:JFK 1952 portrait.jpg
Nominee1:John F. Kennedy
Party1:Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:1,362,926
Percentage1:73.20%
Nominee2:Vincent Celeste
Party2:Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:488,318
Percentage2:26.23%
Map Size:250px
U.S. Senator
Before Election:John F. Kennedy
Before Party:Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:John F. Kennedy
After Party:Democratic Party (United States)

The 1958 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held on November 4, 1958. Democratic incumbent John F. Kennedy was reelected to a second six-year term, defeating Republican candidate Vincent J. Celeste.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Senator Kennedy was unopposed for renomination.

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Celeste was unopposed for the Republican nomination.

General election

Candidates

Campaign

Kennedy was overwhelmingly popular in Massachusetts and the 1958 elections were a wave election favoring the Democratic Party. Celeste's campaign was poorly funded but the candidate worked 17-hour days, running his campaign out of his law offices and attempting to frame the race as one pitting a working-class child of Sicilian immigrants against "that millionaire Jack Kennedy."[1]

The Kennedy campaign had bought and produced thousands of pieces of campaign material with the slogan "Be Proud of Your Vote!" but scrapped them after Celeste's nomination, as Senator Kennedy's father Joe thought the slogan could alienate Italian-Americans and divide the state on ethnic lines.[1]

Results

Kennedy defeated Celeste by a margin of 874,608 votes; this represented the largest margin of victory in a statewide Massachusetts election up to that point.[2]

Notes and References

  1. News: Vincent Celeste, at 90; JFK's US Senate opponent in '58. The Boston Globe. 17 Feb 2015. 13 Dec 2020.
  2. Web site: John F. Kennedy . January 16, 2017 .