Senator Barrack Obama | Obama President 2008

Since that day the pundits have been mulling over the implications of Brown’s winning the seat in Massachusetts that had been held for 46 years by “Liberal Lion of the Senate,” Edward Kennedy. The surprise is accentuated by the fact that Brown had been behind in the polls by 30 points in late October.

The Massachusetts Political Climate

One theory that has been considered is those registered as “independent” in the state propelled Brown to victory. According to an article on the Independent Political Report website, registration numbers of independent voters stood at 50.75 percent, which arguably put them in the majority. That doesn’t tell the whole story though.

While pre-election polling showed that 65 percent of registered independents indicated they would vote for Brown, 22 percent of registered Democrats also responded that they intended to vote for Brown instead of Coakley. Although independent voters could be credited with a major role in Brown’s victory, the 22 percent of Democrat voters in favor of Brown cannot be overlooked.