Could Quincy Become Repulican? Coakley Takes on Brown in Latest Senate Debate

Could Quincy become Republican? That is the question that Mass residents are asking themselves after last weeks Senate debate.

Massachusetts state Sen. Scott Brown (R) is aggressively seeking to gain the overwhelming vote in next week’s special Senate election. Current Attorney General Martha Coakley may face adversity since Brown delivered a solid debate performance and accomplished $1.3 million and a 24 hour Internet fundraising campaign.

The special election will be to replace the now deceased senator Edward M. Kennedy (D). If Brown is victorious or even generates a significant portion of the votes this may be a sign that Massachusetts is swaying more towards a Republican favor. Brown’s potential victory becomes even more important considering that Republicans would than hold a 41 seat advantage and be able to veto President Obama’s latest healthcare initiatives.

According to Dan Balz and Chris Cillizza with the Washington Post, “We believe at the end of the day the attorney general is going to win the race, but we’re not going to take our foot off the gas,” said Eric Schultz, spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Eric Fehrnstrom, a top adviser to Brown, said: “I think it’s a tight race, but Scott Brown still has to be considered the underdog. But clearly there’s panic setting in on the other side, and they’re jumping in with both feet.”

The Democratic Party has had added more support to Coakley’s campaign as they seek to actively block Republican campaigning. The DSCC purchased over half a million dollars in local media advertising in Massachusetts. Polls have been all over the place trying to determine who is the front runner. The Boston Globe is reporting that Coakley had a 15 percentage advantage over Brown. Still other polls have presented different numbers that show that the race is much more competitive.

This last week the national Democratic party released a survey that displayed Coakley with a 14% advantage over Brown. Democratics in general seem to be very confident that Coakley will remain the favored candidate. However, some in the Democratic party blame Coakley for letting up advertising efforts during the holidays. Is the Democratic confidence well deserved or will rising Quincy internet republican blogs be enough to sway public opinion?

Coakley and Brown faced off in the debates last Monday night. Brown seemed to be taking a very aggressive stance in the debate, but no official winner was announced. Some of the key issues that were discussed were taxes, health care reform, and economic policy.

Coakley accused Brown of the desire to take the country back to policies instituted by the George W. Bush administration. In turn Brown criticized Coakley for trying to block Obama‘s plan to send over 30,000 troops to Afghanistan.

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