Ted Kennedy is a senator.
Edward Moore Kennedy ( February 22 , 1932 -- August 25 , 2009 ) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States Senator from Massachusetts . A member of the Democratic Party , he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and was the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history , having served there for almost 47 years . Ted Kennedy entered the Senate in a November 1962 special election to fill the seat previously held by his brother , John , who was now the President . Unabashedly liberal , Kennedy championed an interventionist government that emphasized economic and social justice , but he was also known for working with Republicans to find compromises among senators with disparate views . Over the course of his Senate career and continuing into the Obama administration , Kennedy continued his efforts to enact universal health care , which he called the `` cause of my life . ''