Massachusetts Senate Race Tightens: the College Democrats and College Republicans React

The late Ted Kennedy was a symbol of liberalism in the state of Massachusetts.  When Attorney General Martha Coakley handily won the Democratic primary last month, polls showed her leading the Republican nominee, Massachusetts State Senator Scott Brown, by over 30 percentage points, and all analysts predicted she would cruise to a victory on January 19.

Flash forward to the second week of January, and recent polls show the race has dramatically tightened.  It all began with a January 4th Rasmussen Reports poll which showed Brown trailing by only 9 points, which many pundits initially saw a merely an outlier.  However in the past week, one Democratic pollster actually had Brown leading Coakley by 1 point, and Rasmussen Reports now has Coakley leading by only 2 points, 49% to 47%.

In response to recent polls which show a dramatic shift in the race, College Democrats Communications Director Michael Garber stated, "polls and reality are often quite different.  We are confident that Coakley will pull off a strong win on election day and will be the next in line of great senators from Massachusetts."



College Republicans Communications Director Rob Noel had a different take on the polls, "The swing in the polls reveal that more and more voters are beginning to understand several things: first, that the seat is not 'Ted Kennedy's seat' but rather the people of Massachusetts's seat; second, that the liberal agenda being pushed by the Democrat-controlled senate is detrimental to the United States; and third, that they - the voters - have a fantastic chance to take away the supermajority currently held by the Democratic Party."

Both the CD's and CR's intend to do some last minute phone banking next Tuesday before the polls close, showing how crucial the open seat is.

If Scott Brown wins, he could be the 41st vote necessary to block the health care reform bill in the Senate and send a disastrous signal to Democrats in regards to their prospects in the 2010 Congressional elections, and if Coakley holds on it would all but guarantee the passage of a health care reform bill in one form or another.