Naked Republican Wins Kennedy’s Senate Seat; Democrats Lose ‘Filibuster-Proof’ Senate Supermajority
Heidi Przybyla and John McCormick write on Bloomberg:
Republican Scott Brown won the Massachusetts Senate seat of the late Democrat Edward Kennedy, a political upset that imperils health-care legislation in Congress and sends a warning shot to Democrats ahead of November’s elections.
Brown was leading Democratic state Attorney General Martha Coakley 52-47 percent with 92 percent of the state’s precincts reporting, according to the Associated Press, which projected Brown as the winner. Independent candidate Joseph Kennedy, no relation to the late senator, had about 1 percent of the vote.
Brown, 50, a previously little-known state senator, cast himself as an independent voice who would help thwart President Barack Obama’s health-care plan and keep a check on Democrats in Congress, particularly on tax-increase proposals.
Brown’s victory increases his party’s Senate numbers to 41, which would give Republicans enough members in the 100-person Senate to block votes on an overhaul of the U.S. health-care system, Obama’s top legislative goal.
His victory, in a state Obama won by 26 percentage points in the 2008 election, is the third recent high-profile Democratic loss. In November, the president’s party lost the governor’s mansions in New Jersey and Virginia. It follows decisions by five House Democrats since November to retire instead of face potentially tough races later this year.
Read More: Bloomberg
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