My heart sank when I got up this morning and saw that it was snowing steadily. Would voters turn out? Then I went to vote, and the scene exceeded my hopes. It looked like a busy presidential election day. Turnout was MASSIVE at my polling place, which is a good liberal Democratic stronghold. There was still a cop directing traffic in and out after 9 am.
A friend who voted when the polls opened said he had the hardest time parking at his polling place as he's ever had. I know it's not over until the votes are counted. But if this election is truly about turnout, and those 2 precincts are any indication of what's going on statewide, there are going to be a lot of happy Democrats tonight.
You're all heroes. All of you, everywhere. Every one of you who phonebanked and contacted people you know in Mass and did all the hard work of getting turnout. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Because here's the thing.
When you vote in Massachusetts, you know that usually, how you cast your individual vote just doesn't matter nationally as much as how someone does so in New Hampshire, or Pennsylvania, or any other state that's sometimes in play.
We're not happy that this election came to this point. However, the "likely voter factor" that many polls didn't take into account was the realization that, in a once in a generation happening and perhaps once in a lifetime, what every one of us did mattered deeply, not just for our state, but for our nation. People who expected to blow off this election two weeks ago realized what was in stake.
All the calls and e-mails reminding people of this really helped.
I don't want to take anything for granted, since it's possible that high turnout includes a lot of energized Scott Brown voters too (although I saw two people holding Coakley signs at my polling place and zero for Scott Brown, which is also encouraging. Sign holding is a long tradition around here.)
However, if the analysis about a high turnout helping Martha Coakley is correct, I am feeling very good this morning.
Thank you everyone.
Update: As of 9 pm, the town by town returns I'm seeing are not looking great. Turnout was strong, but it appears that it wasn't just Coakley supporters who got out the vote. Barring a shift, this one isn't looking like a win.
However, even if we don't pull it out, this doesn't change my deep gratitude for the great work so many of you did trying to help us overcome what, in the end, was the problem of a good woman who ran an atrocious campaign, and a flood of hardcore conservative money from around the country that in a regular election wouldn't have been a factor.
We've got a healthy majority in both chambers, and control of the White House. If this doesn't turn around, we'll still get through this and move forward.
A few big Democratic strongholds haven't reported yet (Cambridge, much of Boston, all of Brookline).... Hers should start looking better....question is how much....