Senator Ted Kennedy won re-election to his seventh (his sixth full) term, defeating the Republican nominee, businessman Mitt Romney.

He campaigned as a political moderate and Washington outsider, and posed the greatest challenge ever made against Kennedy for the Senate seat, since he first took office in 1962.

Democratic congressmen across the country were struggling to maintain their seats, and Kennedy in particular was damaged by character concerns and an ongoing divorce controversy.

Romney also performed inadequately in the debates between the two candidates, and made a number of poorly received statements that reduced his standing in the polls.

[7] Romney ran as a successful entrepreneur and Washington outsider, with a strong family image and moderate stands on social issues.

[8][9] George Romney had urged Mitt to enter the race, and moved into his son's house for its duration, serving as an unofficial advisor.

[14] Religion became an issue for a while, after Kennedy's campaign said it was fair to ask Romney about his LDS Church's past policy of not allowing blacks into the priesthood.

[5] George Romney forcefully interjected during his son's press conference, "I think it is absolutely wrong to keep hammering on the religious issues.

[19]) Kennedy's campaign ran short on money, and belying his image as endlessly wealthy, he was forced to take out a second mortgage on his Virginia home.

In a dramatic moment, Kennedy indirectly referred to his personal problems, and acknowledged that he was "painfully aware" that on such occasions, he had let his supporters down.

[5] A second debate, held two days later at Holyoke Community College, focused more on policy details, and lacked the intensity of the first one; Romney failed to gain any traction from it.