 Kennedy subsequently won the September 1962 primary by a two-to-one margin, and he received McCormack's support in the general election.Although pundits predicted that this contest would have caused a rift between McCormack's uncle, John W. McCormack, who was the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Kennedy's brother President John F. Kennedy, Speaker McCormack never showed by word or deed that he bore a grudge against the Kennedys for his nephew's loss.In the November special election, Kennedy defeated Republican George Cabot Lodge II, product of another noted Massachusetts political family, gaining 55 percent of the vote.