 Critics said the current (appointed) senator, Ben Smith who was a close friend of the Kennedy family, was intended all along to simply be a "seat-warmer" until Ted Kennedy turned thirty (the minimum age provided by the U.S. Constitution for eligibility to serve in the Senate).Smith initially planned to run in the special election to complete the rest of the term, however he backed off when polls showed that he would suffer certain defeat to McCormack in the primary.Kennedy faced the notion that with brother John as President and Robert as U.S. Attorney General, "Don't you think that Teddy is one Kennedy too many?"