Senator Robert F. Kennedy Felt At Home On An Oregon Beach

After Robert F. Kennedy’s big win in Nebraska, the primary calendar moved to Oregon for a May 28 primary. Once again, Kennedy would be matched up against Eugene McCarthy.

The voter demographics were tougher for Kennedy in Oregon. He was going to encounter a largely, white affluent electorate that was less receptive to his candidacy. Oregon was less favorable to Kennedy than Indiana and Nebraska.

Robert F. Kennedy was a hard worker and people who saw him during the 1968 campaign said he always looked tired. Kennedy took a well deserved break on May 24, 1968 by going to the beach at Fort Stevens State Park in Astoria, Oregon.

“I can’t believe this is so much like home,” he said. Soon after, he took off his shoes and socks, rolled up his dress pants and ran out toward the ocean. You could tell he was like, ‘Oh my God. I needed this,’” said Rita Hankel Lerwick, a teenage volunteer for Kennedy’s Clatsop County campaign team. “I was just shocked.”

The New York senator decided to walk 1.5 miles, which further delayed his schedule for the day. He even jumped into the 54 degree ocean for a swim at one point before eventually leaving for Astoria.

Kennedy returned to the campaign trail after this short break from his demanding campaign schedule. Election day in Oregon was on May 28. He was in a spirited competition with Eugene McCarthy to win over Oregon voters. Kennedy had his work cut out for him.

Source: Heffernan, Jeff, “RFK Found Piece of Home on the Oregon Coast,” The Daily Astorian, June 2, 2018.