A young Ted Kennedy stumped Arizona for his brother in 1960

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_{1960 Jack Sheaffer photo}

_{Kennedy at a press conference here in 1966.}

When he arrived in Tucson on June 19, 1960, he made two brief appearances, one before the local delegates to the upcoming Democratic National Convention and another before the Young Democrats of Tucson.

In both his remarks, Kennedy told the groups that Arizona was going to be a very important state at the convention for several reasons.

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_{1960 Jack Sheaffer photo}

Arizona was early in the alphabetical list of states, which meant it would be in an ideal spot to yield the floor so Kennedy could be nominated near the beginning of the roll call.

Also, he said, Arizona delegates were bound by the unit rule and at the time, the delegation had a strong majority of Kennedy backers. If that held it would mean 17 more votes for the Senator from Massachusetts.

Kennedy was asked whether Arizona Rep. Stewart Udall might the vice presidential candidate. He said that Udall would definitely “play a vital role in making the selection.” The younger brother said his personal opinion was that the vp candidate should be someone from the Midwest or West and that he should be somewhat older than JFK “perhaps in the late ’40’s or ’50’s.”

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_{1960 Sheaffer photo}

_{While in Tucson, Kennedy met with Democratic party workers.}

When Kennedy returned in August, he was director of the western division of the Kennedy-Johnson campaign. He met with local Democratic party leaders and with the voters. A public reception was held at the Santa Rita Hotel.

He was concerned that Arizona was not a sure win for the Democratic ticket. Kennedy termed the outcome “uncertain” despite the Democrats dominant voter registration status. The success or failure of the ticket in the state depended on the work in the precincts.

In October, Kennedy returned for a final pep talk to the state. He remained optimistic that Democrats would carry the state and he predicted a “big surprise” on election day.

He spoke before 600 students in the UA Student Union Ballroom. Already that day he had been to ASU and was then heading north to the Arizona State College (NAU) in Flagstaff.

At a question and answer session, he was asked how his brother could support stern measures against Cuba. Kennedy answered that “Sen. Kennedy advocates that we align ourselves with those Cubans who are seeking freedom from oppression.”

The younger Kennedy was also asked about the role religion was playing in the 1960 election. He said that it was a much bigger issue in the East. In the 13 Western states, it was never an important factor.

Despite his frequent visits and his optimism, the young Kennedy’s brother did not carry Arizona. Nixon won here with 55.5% of the vote.