Benemax

On January 19, voters in Massachusetts will elect a new Senator to replace Ted Kennedy. It has been widely assumed that the Democratic nominee, Martha Coakley, a strong supporter of the pending Health Care Reform bills, would win easily and preserve the Democrats’ 60 vote “supermajority” in the Senate.

However, polling data released Wednesday by Rassmussen shows a very different picture. Republican Scott Brown is within 9 points of Coakley. Even more surprising, he is within 2 points of Coakley among those who say they are “certain to vote”.

This polling result, reportedly confirmed by the candidates’ own private polls, will release a torrent of campaign spending as Democrats and Republicans all across America rush to contribute to their candidates in this historic contest.

A win by Brown would rob the Democrats of their 60th vote and would probably doom the current Health Care Reform bills to defeat. Even a strong showing by Brown (withing 10 percentage points?) might send enough of a shock wave across the country to shake lose one or two of the wavering Democrat Senators…or a half dozen wavering Representatives in the House.