Come On, Massachusetts!

Up in Massachusetts state Senator Scott Brown, the anti-gay Republican vying to succeed Senator Edward Kennedy, is polling even with the pro-LGBT Democratic candidate, Martha Coakley.

A poll published Saturday by Public Policy Polling shows state Brown one point ahead of Democratic nominee and Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley. In a poll of residents who planned to vote in the special election—which occurs next Tuesday, January 19—48 percent said they intended to vote for Brown, while 47 percent said they would vote for Coakley.

Six percent of responders said they were undecided.

So, undecideds? What gives?

Public Policy Polling’s poll speculated that Brown found strong support in an overwhelmingly “blue” state because of depressed Democratic interest in the election and because he’s favored by independent voters.

Of course, as with all polls, wait a minute and another one comes around. One such poll, conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, gives Coakley had a 17-point lead over Brown. Fifty-three percent of responders said they would vote for her, while 36 percent said they intended to vote for Brown.

Still, Massachusetts, who do you think Ted Kennedy would like to see carry on his work for you?

• Scott Brown, in 2007, voted for a state constitutional amendment that would have taken marriage rights away from gay couples in the first state in the country to allow same-sex marriage. The amendment failed.
• Coakley, by comparison, supports same-sex marriage and as attorney general has been a proponent of federal recognition for married same-sex couples. Last year, she filed a lawsuit on behalf on the State of Massachusetts against the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits married same-sex couples from receiving the federal benefits of marriage. Coakley supports legislation that would affect the LGBT community, like a repeal of DADT. As attorney general, Coakley has “aggressively prosecuted” hate crimes at the state level—including those against LGBT people—and in 2008 she was the first statewide official to endorse state legislation that included gender expression and identity in Massachusetts discrimination and hate crimes laws.

So, Massachusetts, a hater, or a helper.

Make a choice.