Coakley, Brown Supporters Mobilize In Final Days Of Mass. Senate Race

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 15 Jan 2010 - 5:00 PDT

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Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley (D), a "onetime shoo-in for victory" in the race to fill the Senate seat vacated by the death of former Sen. Edward Kennedy (D), is on the "defensive" as the Jan. 19 election approaches, the New York Times reports. Polling suggests that state Sen. Scott Brown (R) is gaining support among unaffiliated voters and some Democrats, injecting a sense of uncertainty into a race that many presumed Coakley would win easily. Although a Boston Globe poll published Sunday showed Coakley with a 15-point lead over Brown, two other polls depicted a much closer race. Turnout in the election is expected to be low, according to the New York Times. However, some political experts believe that Democrats may benefit from anxiety about the outcome of the race in the form of higher voter turnout among Coakley supporters. Meanwhile, stepped up support for Brown from Tea Party and other conservative groups "are furthering the perception that he could win," though it remains to be seen whether these groups can mobilize voters in the heavily Democratic state (Goodnough, New York Times, 1/14).

If he wins, Brown would be the first Republican to secure a U.S. Senate seat in the state since 1972. Brown has pledged to provide the 41st vote needed to block passage of congressional Democrats' health reform legislation. According to the Los Angeles Times, Brown has struggled in his campaign to explain why he opposes the national health reform plan given that he voted in favor of Massachusetts' overhaul of its health care system.

As the election approaches, surrogates and outside groups have mobilized in support of both candidates. Former President Bill Clinton and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) are scheduled to campaign for Coakley (Oliphant, Los Angeles Times, 1/14). Vickie Kennedy, Sen. Kennedy's widow, signed a fundraising e-mail for Coakley (AP/Washington Post, 1/14). In addition, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) penned a fundraising e-mail criticizing Brown as a "far-right tea-bagger Republican." He added that losing the seat, Democrats' 60 Senate votes and hope for health reform would be bad enough but that "it would be even worse for the decisive 'no' vote to come from Ted Kennedy's old seat," as the former senator was a longtime champion of health care reform (New York Times, 1/14). The Service Employees International Union has paid for a television advertisement stating that Brown "voted with Republican leadership 96% of the time," opposes abortion rights and is backed by some of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's (R) supporters.

According to the AP/Washington Post, national Republican groups are "working behind the scenes" to support Brown but are not spending heavily on television advertisements for his campaign. The AP/Post reports that this could signal that GOP officials lack confidence that Brown can secure a win or that "they are afraid of reminding voters that he is a Republican." Few national Republican figures will make campaign appearances on his behalf, although former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) is scheduled to campaign for Brown in Massachusetts on Friday (AP/Washington Post, 1/14).

Seating of Winner Could Be Delayed

Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin (D) said that certification of the election results could be delayed by weeks because state law says that city and town clerks must wait for absentee ballots for at least 10 days after an election. They then have five additional days to file the election returns with the secretary of state's office. Interim Sen. Paul Kirk (D) would remain in the Senate seat during such a delay, and he has said he would vote for health reform legislation (AP/MSNBC, 1/13).

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