Massachusetts voters headed to the polls on Tuesday to choose a new Senator to fill the vacancy left by John Kerry when he chose to become Secretary of State; either Democrat Ed Markey or Republican Gabriel Gomez, reports The New York Times.
Voter turnout was already expected to be very low but the number may drop some more because of the uncomfortably warm weather, temperatures were in the mid-90s on Tuesday. Many of the voters who showed up tended to be very enthusiastic about the process even if they weren't too keen on either candidate.
"I'm a die-hard voter," Dorothy Donovan, a registered nurse who said her age was simply "over 75", told The New York Times. "Voting is such a gift that has been given to us."
A voter who declined to give her name to The New York Times said that she feels the process is important even if her candidate is unlikely to win.
"I always vote, even in a state like Massachusetts, where I know my vote won't make any difference," the Republican voter said.
Democrats in the Bay State have been afraid that this election could end up much like the one in 2010 to replace the late Ted Kennedy. In that election malaise in the Democratic voting pool as well as a strong campaign from Tea Party backed Scott Brown led to Democrats losing a Senate seat that had been held by Democrats for seemingly as long as there had been a Senate.
Two years later Brown would lose his reelection bid to Elizabeth Warren and fade from the public eye. Until last night when he attempted to help Gomez as the Republican attempted to overcome the 10 point lead Markey holds in the polls, reports the Christian Science Monitor.
"I tell you, it's like déjà vu, seeing the same old cast of charcters doing the same old dirty tricks form the Democratic playbook," Brown said at a Gomez rally in Quincy. "You deserve better. The people of Massachusetts deserve better."
It's been a very buy week for residents of Massachusetts and the special election seems to have been far from most people's minds. Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin was very worried about low voter turnout. Galvin told CNN that there were 13,000 fewer requests for absentee ballots than there had been prior to the 2010 special election.
"With many people focused on the Bruins playing in the Stanley Cup Final, the Bulger trial, and the end of the school year, the special election has a lot of competition for attention," Galvin said.
Nathan Gonzales, political editor for the non-partisan Rotherberg Political Report, told CNN that even though low turnout can swing a race in an unexpected fashion it would still be very doubtful if Markey were not to be the victor.
"Turnout can make special elections unpredictable, but in this case, it looks like Markey has a solid advantage," Gonzales said. "With low turnout or high turnout, anything other than a Markey win would be a monumental upset - bigger than Scott Brown's victory in 2010. But I don't think that's going to happen."
Today's election marks the end of a bitter, and at times petty, contest between Gomez and Markey. Gomez had accused Markey of not being a real resident of Massachusetts and called him pond scum, while Markey consistently insinuated that Gomez was hiding something because of his refusal to release tax returns and disclose who his clients were when he worked as a private equity investor, according to CNN.
The winner of Tuesday's election will replace William "Mo" Cowan who has been serving in Kerry's place since he was appointed by Governor Deval Patrick.
