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Massachusetts hosts key election | Massachusetts hosts key election |
(10 minutes later) | |
Voters are preparing to go to the polls in Massachusetts in a special election to fill the US Senate seat left vacant by Edward Kennedy's death last August. | Voters are preparing to go to the polls in Massachusetts in a special election to fill the US Senate seat left vacant by Edward Kennedy's death last August. |
The race, between Democratic Attorney General Martha Coakley and conservative Republican state senator Scott Brown, is unexpectedly close. | The race, between Democratic Attorney General Martha Coakley and conservative Republican state senator Scott Brown, is unexpectedly close. |
If it goes to Mr Brown, the Democrats will lose their filibuster-proof 60-seat majority in the 100-seat Senate. | |
This would make it harder for Barack Obama to pass a healthcare reform bill. | This would make it harder for Barack Obama to pass a healthcare reform bill. |
Healthcare reform is the most important domestic policy objective of his first year as president. | Healthcare reform is the most important domestic policy objective of his first year as president. |
The BBC's Paul Adams, in Boston, says this Senate race should have been a formality for the Democrats - they outnumber Republicans in Massachusetts by around three to one, and the seat being contested was controlled by the Kennedy family for more than half a century. | The BBC's Paul Adams, in Boston, says this Senate race should have been a formality for the Democrats - they outnumber Republicans in Massachusetts by around three to one, and the seat being contested was controlled by the Kennedy family for more than half a century. |
But he adds that Ms Coakley has run a lacklustre campaign, allowing her Republican opponent - with vigorous support from conservative activists - to overtake her in the polls. | But he adds that Ms Coakley has run a lacklustre campaign, allowing her Republican opponent - with vigorous support from conservative activists - to overtake her in the polls. |
Mr Obama went to Boston on Sunday to lend support to the Coakley campaign, a sign of the growing apprehension felt by the White House. | |
The Democrats believe that their relentless portrayal of Mr Brown as a friend of Wall Street is working, but with heavy snow blanketing much of the state, motivating supporters to show up and vote will be critical. | The Democrats believe that their relentless portrayal of Mr Brown as a friend of Wall Street is working, but with heavy snow blanketing much of the state, motivating supporters to show up and vote will be critical. |
Analysts say that with opinion polls showing nearly half of all Americans think President Obama is not delivering on his major campaign promises, the Massachusetts race could be seen as a referendum on his first year in office. |