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Republican state Senator Scott Brown - Source: Reuters -
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Republican Scott Brown won a bitter US Senate race in
Massachusetts on Wednesday, dealing a stunning blow to President
Barack Obama's legislative agenda and casting doubt on the fate of
his sweeping healthcare overhaul.
Brown's defeat of Democratic state Attorney General Martha Coakley
robbed Democrats of the crucial 60th Senate vote they need to
overcome Republican procedural hurdles and sent shudders of fear
through Democrats facing tough races in November's congressional
elections.
What once seemed an easy Democratic victory turned into a desperate
scramble in the last few weeks as Brown surged ahead on voter fears
over the economy, the healthcare reform bill and Obama's
agenda.
Brown, a Massachusetts state senator, had promised to be the
pivotal 41st Republican vote against the healthcare overhaul in the
100-member Senate.
"People don't want this trillion-dollar healthcare plan that is
being forced on the American people," Brown told cheering
supporters at a Boston hotel who chanted "41" and "Seat him
now."
He said voters were rejecting the closed-door deals that were
driving the healthcare debate and he took satisfaction in proving
the experts - and Democrats - wrong.
"They thought that they owned this seat. They thought that they
couldn't lose," Brown said. "You all set them straight."
Brown's upset with 52% of the vote in heavily Democratic
Massachusetts raised the specter of large losses for Democrats
across the country in November and left Democrats scrambling to
find answers.
"Anyone who has been out on the campaign trail has seen the anger,"
Coakley, who was criticized for running a weak campaign, told a
room of dispirited supporters at a Boston hotel. "I am heartbroken
at the result."
Obama, who won almost 62% of the state's vote in the 2008
presidential election, made a last-minute appeal in Massachusetts
on Sunday to try to ignite enthusiasm for her campaign to replace
the late Senator Edward Kennedy, a Democratic icon and longtime
champion of healthcare reform.
In Washington, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said the president
called Brown after the result.
"The president told Senator Brown that he looks forward to working
with him on the urgent economic challenges facing Massachusetts
families and struggling families across our nation," Gibbs said in
a statement.
Health stocks move higher
Expectations the Brown victory could be the death knell for
healthcare reform drove health insurance and drug company stocks
higher on Wednesday, lifting the Dow and the S&P 500 to
15-month closing highs.
US Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said he would welcome Brown
to the Senate as soon as he received the paperwork from
Massachusetts officials.
"I believe it would only be fair and prudent that we suspend
further votes on health care legislation until Senator-elect Brown
is seated," Democratic Senator Jim Webb said.
Massachusetts last elected a Republican to the Senate in 1972, but
the shift could not have come at a worse time for Obama. Democrats
control 60 votes in the Senate to 40 for the Republicans, and the
loss of one Democrat could doom the healthcare bill.
Democratic leaders vowed to push healthcare reform through Congress
despite the results, but several Democrats cautioned that the party
should reconsider its stance.
"It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to take a step back
and say we're going to pivot to do a jobs thing," Representative
Anthony Weiner of New York told reporters.
Republicans said the results confirmed the public's distaste for
Obama's healthcare overhaul and their anger at being ignored by
Democratic lawmakers.
"The voters in Massachusetts, like Americans everywhere, have made
it abundantly clear where they stand on health care. They don't
want this bill and want Washington to listen to them," Republican
Senate leader Mitch McConnell said.
Election officials in Massachusetts reported heavy turnout as
voters braved drizzle and light snow to get to the ballot box.
Local media reported long lines at some polling places.
Millions of dollars had flooded into the state to buy nonstop
television advertising for both sides, transforming a relatively
sleepy contest into a bitter brawl.
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