May 13, 1964 - Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy is exploring the idea of running for the Senate from New York State this fall. The move has been suggested by members of his family and by Democrats in both Washington and New York. Kennedy has been sufficiently interested to send a representative to New York to sound out sentiment of some carefully chosen Democrats.
The fact that the Attorney General is not a resident of New York and has not been one for many years would probably not interfere if he chose to run. Legal authorities in both parties agree that a Senate nominee must be living in the state from which he is running only at the time he is elected.
If he were nominated, Kennedy would oppose Senator Kenneth Keating, the Rochester Republican who will seek a second term in the election this fall.
Many New York Democrats believe Kennedy would be a formidable candidate, drawing on his late brother’s popularity, his personal record in the civil rights cause, and an unusually high measure of national fame.
Kennedy is also a potential Vice-Presidential candidate. As a matter of political courtesy, he would not be asked to commit himself to a Senate race until after President Johnson has selected his running mate at the Democratic National Convention, which opens on Aug. 24. If Kennedy were the Senate candidate, his prominence would presumably lessen the need for a long campaign.
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