BOSTON, (Reuters) – Republican Scott Brown took an early lead in a tight Massachusetts race for the U.S. Senate yesterday, nearing a stunning win that could threaten passage of President Barack Obama’s legislative agenda and scuttle his push for a sweeping healthcare overhaul.
What once looked likely to be an easy Democratic victory turned into a desperate scramble after a surge by the Republican state senator over the past few weeks in the race for late liberal Democratic icon Edward Kennedy’s old seat. Brown led Democratic state Attorney General Martha Coakley by a margin of 52 percent to 47 percent, with more than half of the state’s 2,168 precincts reporting.
A Brown victory over Coakley would rob Democrats of the 60th Senate vote they need to overcome Republican procedural hurdles.
Voter worries about the economy and healthcare reform have helped Brown, and Obama made a visit to the state on Sunday to try to ignite enthusiasm for Coakley.
In Washington, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said the president did not believe healthcare reform would fail if Coakley loses. But Obama is “both surprised and frustrated” and “not pleased” by the closeness of the Massachusetts race, Gibbs said.
Reflecting Wall Street’s expectations for healthcare reform, investors drove health insurance and drug company shares higher, betting a Brown victory would at least slow Obama’s healthcare plans. Hospital companies, which may gain more insured customers under health reform, saw their shares slump.
“If Brown wins, it is our view that Obamacare will not pass Congress,” Avik Roy, a healthcare analyst with Monnes Crespi Hardt, said in a research note.