BOSTON (YBH.ME) – Massachusetts will hold a special election on January 19th to determine who will serve out late Senator Edward Kennedy’s term. Democrat Attorney General Martha Coakley is facing Republican State Senator Scott Brown.
Scott Brown looks for special election upset in Massachusetts.
Typically, Democrats win in Massachusetts period. The last time Massachusetts elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate was in 1972. 2010 may be an exception for the Bay State. With unemployment at 10% and an unpopular health care battle being waged in Washington, D.C. voters in Massachusetts may be willing to vote for the GOP candidate this time around.
Mr. Brown is clearly the underdog, but many Democrats have taken notice of an effective ad Mr. Brown is running that features President John F. Kennedy. MSNBC pundit Chris Matthews has even taken issue with Mr. Brown’s ad on his show. (See the ad and Mr. Matthews reaction below)
Mr. Brown serves in a state senate that has only 5 Republican members (vs. 34 Democrats, 1 seat in Massachusetts is vacant). The 29-year Massachusetts Guard veteran is serving his third term in the bluest of blue states. He has over 16,000 Facebook Fans vs. 6,400 for Ms. Coakley. If anyone can win in Massachusetts it is Mr. Brown.
Ms. Coakley, the Attorney General, is no lightweight herself. Elected in 2006, she is the first female Attorney General of Massachusetts and has spent over 20 years in law enforcement, playing various roles including a stint as head of the Child Abuse Prosecution Unit.
Internal polling shows Mr. Brown down by 9 points, that is likely to change one way or the other as the race comes into national focus. John Fund wrote an editorial in the Wall Street Journal on January 4th about the race, the first in what is likely to be a barrage of mainstream coverage in coming days.
A Republican win in Massachusetts would literally change the balance of power, or at least moderate the Democrats hyper-majority, overnight.
Scott Brown – http://www.brownforussenate.com
Martha Coakley – http://www.MarthaCoakley.com
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John Romano is the publisher and editor of Yes, But However!, a musician, a former political correspondent for BBC Radio London, and a serial web entrepreneur. Follow him on twitter: twitter.com/yesbuthowever or John Romano on Google+John Romano article archive.
