Dems in Trouble...in Massachusetts??

That's like saying the Angel Gabriel isn't polling well in heaven. Next month's Senate special election could turn out to be a barn burner:

State Attorney General Martha Coakley holds a nine-point lead over her Republican rival, state Senator Scott Brown, in Massachusetts’ special U.S. Senate election to fill the seat of the late Edward M. Kennedy.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in the state finds Coakley ahead of Brown 50% to 41%. One percent (1%) prefer some other candidate, and seven percent (7%) are undecided.

The special Senate election will be held on January 19 and special elections typically feature low turnout. That’s one reason the race appears to be a bit closer than might typically be expected for a Senate race in Massachusetts. Kennedy carried 69% of the vote when he was reelected in 2006.

That fact that Coakley is barely at 50% has to be very troublesome for the Democrats. They've been portraying this race as a done deal with Coakley just needing to cruise to the final win, and that could backfire on them if Democrats stay home on election day while the more highly motivated GOP and independent voters show up in bigger numbers.

The other issue is that Massachusetts has had two Democrat Senators since 1978 and may be ready for a change, especially since the voters aren't feeling terribly charitable toward Democrats right now. Coakley has tried to run as the de facto incumbent, but candidates who think themselves "inevitable" often aren't.

As I've said before, the national GOP needs to get behind Brown and provide some solid money and support. We can still win this thing, and even if all we do is make it a very close race, that could have a very desirable effect on Democrats around the country. It could set off another wave of retirement announcements, and take some potentially tough candidates out of races they might have otherwise joined.