Thoughts on Massachusetts

If you are a political junkie, you are fixated on the Bay State, where the race to fill Ted Kennedy’s seat has become a close race between Democrat Martha Coakley and Republican Scott Brown. No one expected this to be tight until the last week or two. The unlikelihood of a close election should be reinforced by these facts:

1) Massachusetts’s entire  US Congressional delegation (all House and Senate) is Democrat. It is the largest state in the country to have that makeup.

2) Registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by about a 3-1 margin.

3) A Republican has not been elected to the Senate from Mass. since 1972.

4) In the General Court  (Mass. State Legislature) there are currently 179 Democrats and  a mere 21 Republicans.

That all said, it is a close race, with Scott Brown even ahead in most of the last polls taken. Voting closes at 8pm, EST. Some good places to keep tabs on the race (aside from tv) are RealClearPolitics and Politico.