Martha Mary Coakley (born July 14, 1953) is the current Attorney General of Massachusetts and was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for a special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by the death of Edward Kennedy. The seat was held by an appointee, Paul Kirk, who chose not to run.
Previously Coakley served as District Attorney of Middlesex County from 1999 though 2007.
On January 14, 2010, asked her opinion on a health care bill, she said that devout Catholics "probably shouldn't work in the emergency room." [1]
Democrats had been favored to keep this Senate seat and were shocked when Coakley lost her 30-point lead over Republican Scott Brown. Coakley proved to be an ineffective candidate who was unable to appeal to independents.
Brown's main theme was that he will be the 41st senator and will block the Obama health care plan—which Massachusetts does not need, he explains, because it has its own plan now in operation. Coakley responded by attacking bankers and bringing in big guns like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, though their appearances underscored her strength among Democratic party regulars and her weakness against independents. A defeat for Coakley, coming on the heels of the Democrats' loss of Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial elections in November 2009, was a major blow to the liberal cause and reinvigorated the Republican Party nationally. It was also a portent of the Democratic Party's landslide defeat in the 2010 Midterm Elections.
Final poll results
see for latest polls
- Politico/InAdv (released 1-18): Brown 52, Coakley 43
- PJM/CrossTarget (released 1-18): Brown 52, Coakley 42
- PPP (released 1-18): Brown 51, Coakley 46
- Daily Kos/R2000 (released 1-18): Brown 48, Coakley 48
- InsideMedford/MRG (released 1-17): Brown 51, Coakley 41
- ARG Poll (released 1-16): Brown 48, Coakley 45
- Suffolk/7News (released 1-15): Brown 50, Coakley 46
- Blue Mass Group/R2000 (released 1-14): Brown 41 Coakley 49
Endorsements
- Emily's List
- SEIU and the usual Teamsters unions
- Massachusetts Gay & Lesbian Political Caucus [2]
- Sierra Club
- Boston Globe
- Senator John Kerry
- Barack Hussein Obama