"It was a difficult race--you have to give Abt credit because of who we're running against," said the Republican's campaign manager, Don E. D'Entremont. "We were playing to win until 8 p.m. tonight. It's very disappointing," he added.

Local politicians at the Kennedy victory party last night said Kennedy would be able to serve his district better than most freshmen Congressmen because the family name carries a lot of weight in the nation's capital.

Puffing on a fresh cigar, Mayor Walter J. Sullivan said after Kennedy's speech that "he knows politics. It'll take him a while to learn, but he'll cover us well."

Former Cambridge Councilor Kevin Crane commented that "It'll be an interesting two years, to see what he does down in Washington--we haven't had a freshman Congressman for 34 years." With a Republican President, he said the Speaker's ability to retain Federal aid for the district would be difficult to match.

James Spencer, director of the Kennedy field operation, said "Joe Kennedy is the first politician I've worked for who can speak to the baby-boom generation on down." He said he hoped Kennedy would be able to inspire the young to political action, since the current crop of aspiring politicians "is like the Revenge of the Nerds"--an ambitious but selfish collection of "high-school debate team captains."

"I've never in my life been so excited. I don't give a damn about the glitz--it's the potential for change," he said of Kennedy's victory.

Billed as a reluctant candidate, Kennedy avoided political life until January of this year, and stayed out of the limelight until he founded the non-profit Citizens Energy Corporation six years ago. The corporation aids the Massachusetts Fuel Assistance program and has worked on various experiments in alternative energies and conservation.

Spencer said the media has correctly called the Congressman "the ordinary Kennedy."

"He's an ordinary guy," and "a non-leader," he said, but added that "he has a drive, and he's not afraid to put himself in somebody's face and say, 'this is what has got to be done.'"

Sophia Van Wingerden contributee to the reporting of this story.