SPRINGFIELD, Mass.—Polls in the last week have shown the Massachusetts Senate race between Democrat Martha Coakley and Republican Scott Brown to be extremely close, with Brown pulling slightly ahead in two polls released over the weekend.
A survey of the Bay State’s major newspaper endorsements also shows the candidates from the two dominant political parties in a dead heat as well. The Boston Herald and the Worcester Telegram & Gazette both endorsed Brown, but the state’s largest circulation newspaper, the Boston Globe, supports Coakley (although it did not in her primary race).
On Saturday The Republican, the misnamed tabloid that covers Springfield and all of western Massachusetts, published its endorsement of Coakley:
Is it possible? Could Massachusetts – one of the bluest of blue states turn red?
It’s the Democrats’ worst nightmare and the Republicans’ fondest hope, as both parties recognize voter frustration over the slow pace of the nation’s economic recovery and the even slower progress on a health care bill.
We urge Bay State voters to ignore the attack ads and fear mongering and elect Martha Coakley as the person who will pick up the torch for Kennedy.
Massachusetts needs a senator who understands the needs of middle-class families that are struggling to pay their mortgages, maintain their health coverage, send their kids to college and plan for their retirement. Those are the people Sen. Kennedy spent his 47-year career fighting for – and that’s who Martha Coakley will fight for.
It appears political observers inside the state are as shocked as those in the rest of the country that Brown could possibly be in the lead.
By Paul Chesser, Special Correspondent or Watchdog.org
