A new Rasmussen poll released yesterday shows Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, the Democratic nominee to fill the seat of the late Senator Ted Kennedy, holding a slim two point lead over Republican nominee State Senator Scott Brown. Massachusetts has not elected a Republican US Senator since 1972. Coakley and Brown will face off in a special election on January 19. The poll show that 77 percent of Democrats support Coakley and 88 percent of Republicans support Brown. Among independent voters, Brown is leading 71 to 23 percent. Last week a separate Rasmussen poll showed Coakley leading by 9 points. Coakley is currently the only woman elected to statewide office in Massachusetts and, if elected, would be the first woman to represent the state in the US Senate. Currently, there are 17 women US Senators. Coakley served as Middlesex District Attorney before being elected attorney general in 2006. Coakley is endorsed by the Feminist Majority, NOW, Planned Parenthood Massachusetts, EMILY’s List, and a host of other progressive organizations. She is a strong leader with a feminist track record on reproductive rights, LGBT equality, and economic fairness. In the Massachusetts race, she was the only candidate to stand up for reproductive rights during the ongoing national health reform debate. Coakley has also filed landmark litigation challenging the Defense of Marriage Act and is in support of same sex marriage. As a prosecutor, she was a pioneer in creating programs to protect survivors of domestic violence.
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