The 1980 presidential campaign of Ted Kennedy, United States Senator from Massachusetts, was formally launched on November 7, 1979, as Senator Kennedy, the youngest Kennedy brother, announced his intention to seek the Democratic Party nomination for the presidency of the United States in the 1980 presidential election against incumbent President Jimmy Carter.
Kennedy in 1979
Ted Kennedy meets Jimmy Carter in 1977
Chappaquiddick incident
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The Chappaquiddick incident occurred on Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, United States, sometime around midnight between July 18 and 19, 1969, when United States Senator Ted Kennedy drove his car off a narrow bridge, causing it to overturn in Poucha Pond. The crash resulted in the death of his 28-year-old passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, who was trapped inside the vehicle.
The Dike Bridge is accessible only by a dirt road, and leads to dead-end sand dunes past Poucha Pond. The guardrail was not present in 1969.
Dike House, along Dike Road, is 150 yards from the bridge.
National Lampoon fake VW Beetle ad mocking the incident.