The Kennedy family
Massachusetts · New York · Rhode Island · President · Senate · Governor · House
Combined career popular votes
57,816,864
Combined electoral votes
303
Members on the ballot
7
Combined W–L
34–2
Years on the ballot
1946–2018
The Kennedys ran for office across four states and three generations. John F. Kennedy went from the House to the Senate to the presidency; his brothers Robert (senator from New York) and Edward (senator from Massachusetts for 47 years) became national figures in their own right; and the next generation, Joseph P. Kennedy II, Patrick Kennedy, Joseph P. Kennedy III, and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, carried the name into Congress and statewide office.
| Member | Offices | Years | Career popular votes | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edward M. KennedyD | Senate | 1962–2006 | 13,405,688 | 9–0 |
| John F. KennedyD | President · House · Senate | 1946–1960 | 37,065,164 | 6–0 |
| Joseph P. Kennedy IID | House | 1986–1996 | 806,128 | 6–0 |
| Joseph P. Kennedy IIID | House | 2012–2018 | 916,573 | 4–0 |
| Kathleen Kennedy TownsendD | Governor · House | 1986–2002 | 881,622 | 0–2 |
| Patrick J. KennedyD | House | 1994–2008 | 917,940 | 8–0 |
| Robert F. KennedyD | Senate | 1964 | 3,823,749 | 1–0 |
How this is measured
Combined career popular votes are summed across the 7 family members we track, each counted once across every presidential, U.S. Senate, governor, and U.S. House election in our data. Family membership is hand-curated and verified against primary sources, never matched by surname alone, so unrelated namesakes are never folded in. A vote for a presidential ticket counts for both the president and the vice-presidential candidate, matching how each profile reports its own totals.