Kennedy's life was not without controversy, most notably a late-night auto accident in 1969 that killed Mary Jo Kopechne, a 28-year-old former campaign worker for Kennedy's brother, Robert, who drowned after the senator drove off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island. Kennedy, who did not report the accident until the next day, pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and received a two-month suspended sentence.
House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, said the message Kennedy delivered at the funeral of his assassinated brother, Robert, in 1968 also applied to the senator. Reciting the eulogy lines from memory, Hoyer said Ted Kennedy "need not be idealized or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life; to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it."
Hoyer, in an interview, said that Kennedy's ability to sell legislative compromises to fellow liberals in Congress was "almost irreplaceable."
"Nobody has the stature in the Congress that Ted Kennedy had," Hoyer said. But he said it is probably unrealistic to think that the emotions triggered by Kennedy's death would make a major difference in the health care fight.
Paul S. Sarbanes, a Maryland Democrat who served with Kennedy for 30 years in the Senate, was traveling in Greece when he received the news. Sarbanes, who retired in 2006, called Kennedy "a dear friend and an inspirational colleague."
Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, a Baltimore Democrat, called Kennedy "an inspiration to us all" and "a true American hero."
"For decades, Senator Kennedy has been a stalwart in our community, fighting for our children, for our seniors and for the best interests of millions of families across the nation," Cummings said in a statement.
Gov. Martin O'Malley, who got campaign help from Kennedy in unseating Ehrlich in 2006, offered condolences to the Kennedy, Shriver and Townsend families.
The Democratic governor, citing Irish poet John O'Donohue, said Kennedy embodied the ideal of compassion. He praised Kennedy for his ability to forge consensus and for his work on some of the most historic social justice initiatives of his time, such as health care, and said the senator "worked very, very hard on his calling, his discipline, his craft."
Republican National Chairman Michael S. Steele, a former Maryland lieutenant governor, offered condolences.
Steele said he was saddened to learn of Kennedy's death. "For close to five decades, Senator Ted Kennedy followed in his family's long tradition and served his country with great distinction. His legacy should serve as an inspiration to anyone interested in public service."
Baltimore Sun reporter Laura Smitherman contributed to this article.
