Ted Kennedy takes jabs in Senate primary debate 50 years ago this hour (1962)

(Monday, August 27, 1962, 8:00 p.m. EDT) — State Attorney General Edward J. McCormack Jr., challenging Edward Moore Kennedy (the 30-year-old brother of President John F. Kennedy) in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts, accused Kennedy in a TV debate tonight of attempting to get elected on his brother’s coattails.

“If your name were Edward Moore your candidacy would be a joke,” said McCormack, nephew of House Speaker John W. McCormack. The primary is scheduled for Sept. 18, 1962.