Hughes Claims 72,514 Names Validated

Stuart Hughes, professor of History at Harvard and independent candidate for the United States Senate, has passed the 72,000 validated signatures needed to place his name on the ballot in November.

The Hughes for Senate Committee announced late last week that a total of at least 120,000 names has been collected, and that by today, "72,514 of these had been validated by town clerks."

The candidate's aides expect to have at least 85,000 validated signatures by tomorrow morning, when all petitions must be filed with Secretary of State Kevin H. White.

Tomorrow at 11 a.m., Hughes has scheduled a press conference at the Massachusetts State House. He is expected to reveal the final member of signatures collected and announce detailed plans for the campaign.

In the Senatorial race, Hughes will face opposition from either Edward M, "Ted" Kennedy or Edward J. McCormack Jr. on the Democratic side, and either Laurence Curtis or George Cabot Lodge on the Republican side. Primaries to pick the standard-bearer for each major party will be held in September 18.

Hughes supporters feared that other Senatorial candidates might try to keep their candidate off the ballot and thus made special efforts to insure that petitions were properly signed. About 70 to 80 percent of the signatures are being validated.