The mid-term elections are eleven months away. A potential harbinger of things two come is only two weeks away. On January 19, the citizens of Massachusetts vote to elect a Senator who will fill the seat once held by Lodges and Kennedys. Democrat Martha Coakley, the state's attorney general, faces off with Republican Scott Brown, a state senator. It's Massachusetts, so naturally there is a Kennedy on the ballot--independent candidate Joseph Kennedy. Ironically, it's neither the Democrat nor the Kennedy who is using Kennedy family imagery for political advantage in this race. It's the Republican, whose ingenious ad shows a speech advocating tax cuts by President John Kennedy, who morphs into Republican Scott Brown finishing the thought. That's good politics in Massachusetts, where the Kennedy name is still golden and registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by 3-1. To win, Brown must peel away a few Democrats from their ancestral party. Appealing to Camelot is one way to do that.

A Rasmussen poll shows Scott Brown within 9 points of Martha Coakley. In any other state, such a finding is bad news for the Republicans. In Massachusetts, it's bad news for the Democrats. There are no moral victories on election day, only actual victories and actual defeats. But for a Republican to be within striking distance two weeks before election day is horrible news for Democrats no matter how you spin it. Why is this even a horse race?

For the first time in a quarter century, a Democrat incumbent is not on the ballot. The economy is horrible, and Massachusetts voters can only take their frustrations out upon Democrats, who control not only the White House but the state's entire congressional delegation and every statewide office. In this special election, the Republicans enjoy all the trappings of a mid-term election: with the Republican base energized over the explosion of federal spending and Brown potentially becoming the 41st vote to stop ObamaCare.

More so than these variables is the reality that Brown is a far more attractive candidate than the wooden Coakley, who--in a Martha Stewart accent foreign to Bay Staters (at least those who live in the eastern half)--mouths Democratic talking points in a robotic manner. Brown is a 25-year veteran of the Massachusetts National Guard. His local-TV-news star wife and two daughters (one performed well on American Idol) compare favorably to Coakley's husband and two dogs. A quarter-century ago, Brown's good looks landed him a spread in Cosmo as "America's Sexiest Man." This is Massachusetts, and a semi-nude spread is no impediment to elected office. Brown, though at times appearing in need of a line of coke or a few Red Bulls to boost his energy level, is charismatic, intelligent, and likeable. His favorable/unfavorable rating in Massachusetts is 25-5. Coakley's? Her unfavorables eclipse her favorables.

I interviewed Brown on the radio last week, and, unlike the sacrificial lambs the Mass GOP has nominated in the past, he is a gamer. With a weak opponent, favorable national conditions, and no incumbent barring the path, the stars seem aligned for a good showing for Brown. But showing doesn't cut it in politics. Neither for that matter does placing. Only winning matters.

Though Scott Brown trails in the one poll of this race, the raw vote count has him ahead 1-0. I cast an absentee ballot yesterday at city hall. Should Brown win--and provide the 41st vote upholding a fillibuster of ObamaCare--you know who to thank.

I was at a fund raiser and picnic this summer for the Mass GOP and got to meet all of the R players including Brown.

Very impressive guy in a low key kind of way and it would be a wonderful thing to have him represent the bluest of Blue States in a Senate that could certainly use some intelligence and in a Mass. Congressional Delegation that would benefit from some political diversity.

Didn't see it mentioned here but, although registered Mass. Dems outnumber the opposition 3-1, a recent poll of un-enrolled came up with 61% for Brown. That could turn out to be very good news.

This is indeed the state that elected Weld and Romney within living memory, and I can't imagine the state has become fundamentally different in its politics since then.

The Republicans should stop giving money to Carly Fiorina and throw it Brown's way, where it might have an impact, and a positive one at that.