Coakley-Brown Senate race results

(Hat tip: CommonCents)

LIVE BLOG: SCROLL DOWN FOR UPDATES.

As of 8:53 Eastern time, and according to FoxNews, the current vote tally for the Massachusetts Senate race is:

With 18 percent of precincts reporting, early returns show Brown leading Democrat Martha Coakley 52-47 percent.

Meanwhile, Drudge is quoting 169,808 votes for Republican Brown and 145,733 for Democrat Coakley.

Separately, Speaker Pelosi will not let the will of the people get in the way of her agenda:

"Let's remove all doubt, we will have healthcare one way or another," Pelosi said during an event in San Francisco on Monday. "Certainly the dynamic would change depending on what happens in Massachusetts. Just the question about how we would proceed. But it doesn't mean we won't have a health care bill."

UPDATE (9:09 Eastern time): Fox is now reporting that 39% of precincts are reporting with no change in the percentages:

With 39 percent of precincts reporting, early returns show Brown leading Democrat Martha Coakley 52-47 percent.

UPDATE (9:27 Eastern time): Fox reports a stronger lead for Brown with 66% of the precincts reporting:

With 66 percent of precincts reporting, returns show Brown leading Democrat Martha Coakley 53-46 percent. Independent candidate Joseph Kennedy is pulling 1 percent.

Preparing for a possible legal battle, Ms. Coakley reportedly has already hired Marc Elias, the attorney to whom Al Franken owes his victory.

Fearful of what a poor showing by Coakley might mean, a Washington Post columnist, Steven Pearlstein, is already claiming that the race was not about Obamacare.

UPDATE (9:40 ET): Coakley has conceded:

Coakley has called Brown to concede. With 84 percent of precincts reporting, returns show Brown leading Coakley 52-47 percent. Independent candidate Joseph Kennedy was pulling 1 percent.

UPDATE (9:51 ET): Rasmussen is starting to release some of its election day poll results. For one, they report that, Steven Pearlstein and the Washington Post to the contrary notwithstanding, the voters were voting on Obamacare:

Health care has been a huge issue in this election. Fifty-two percent (52%) of Brown voters say it was the most important issue in determining their vote. Sixty-three percent (63%) of Coakley voters say health care was the top issue:

· 78% of Brown voters Strongly Oppose the health care legislation before Congress.

· 52% of Coakley supporters Strongly Favor the health care plan. Another 41% Somewhat Favor the legislation.

UPDATE (10:02 ET): 92 percent of precincts are now reporting:

With 92 percent of precincts reporting, returns show Brown leading Coakley 52-47 percent, by a margin of more than 112,000 votes. Independent candidate Joseph Kennedy was pulling 1 percent.

UPDATE: do we have VICTORY? Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) says: "It would only be fair and prudent that we suspend further votes on health care legislation until Senator-elect Brown is seated." Sen. Bayh (D-IN) warns Dems to avoid denial, as ABC reports:

Even before the votes are counted, Senator Evan Bayh is warning fellow Democrats that ignoring the lessons of the Massachusetts Senate race will “lead to even further catastrophe” for their party.

“There’s going to be a tendency on the part of our people to be in denial about all this,” Bayh told ABC News, but “if you lose Massachusetts and that’s not a wake-up call, there’s no hope of waking up.”

UPDATE (10:25 ET): 96% of precincts are now reporting with percentages unchanged:

With 96 percent of precincts reporting, returns show Brown leading Coakley 52-47 percent, by a margin of more than 105,000 votes. Independent candidate Joseph Kennedy was pulling 1 percent.

The Admonition calls this Obama's third strike:

Like the Top of the Ticket at the LA Times I won’t count the Olympics debacle in which Obama’s presence sped up the departure of his beloved Chicago from the race for 2016. I will however count the numerous campaign stops Barry made for Jon Corzine in New Jersey and Creigh Deeds in Virginia. In both instances Obama’s appearances didn’t help the democrat candidate cross the finish line first.

Tonight, with Scott Brown winning in decisive fashion, and not only winning but winning Ted Kennedy’s old seat, President Obama has just received his third strike. No matter how the media establishment wants to spin it.

Corzine, Deeds, and Coakley. One would think that a former Messiah could maintain a better batting average.

MORE: Rep Weiner (D-NY) is awake, as ABC News reports:

If Brown is elected, Senate Democrats would lose the 60-seat majority they now enjoy and that they need to avoid a Republican filibuster of the health care bill.

"I think you can make a pretty good argument that health care might be dead," Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" today when asked about the Democrats' contingency plan.

Reacting to Brown winning "Kennedy's seat," Rush Limbaugh says:

"This one's for you, Mary Jo."

(Hat tip: Instapundit and Founding Bloggers.)

UPDATE (Wednesday): The AP has unofficial results from all precincts broken down county-by-county. The statewide totals are 1,168,107 (52%) for Brown vs. 1,058,682 (47%) for Coakley. Joseph Kennedy received 22,237 votes (1%).

MORE: Scott Stantis summarizes the Democrat reaction:


ALSO on the MA Senate race and its aftermath:
•Some Dems are waking up and smelling the coffee
•Obamacare: some still want to do a kamikaze run
•Mass. focus group says it was all about healthcare
•Where has the laughter gone?

PREVIOUSLY on other 2010 races:
•Will Boxer go the way of Coakley?: CA Senate race tightens
•California 2010 Governor's race