Turnout Is Key in Massachusetts Battle

Close Race for Senate Galvanizes Supporters

By GREG HITT , TAMARA AUDI AND PETER WALLSTEN
WSJ

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass.—The fight for a Massachusetts U.S. Senate seat, and with it President Barack Obama's domestic agenda, is coming down to one essential challenge: maximizing turnout of core supporters in dismal wintry weather conditions.

Both campaigns in Tuesday's special election to succeed the late Edward Kennedy, joined by allies on the left and right, are mounting extraordinary efforts to boost turnout, pouring millions of dollars into advertising while flooding neighborhoods with canvassers and phone lines with last-minute appeals to vote.

Snow and sleet fell across most of Massachusetts Monday. Rain or snow is expected again Tuesday, especially in the Boston area, which could depress turnout.

A special election to fill the seat held by the late Senator Ted Kennedy is going to have enormous implications for the entire country. Video courtesy Fox News.

This eleventh-hour push is more akin to a presidential campaign in a closely fought battleground. But it is unfolding in a traditionally liberal state that has rarely seen a grass-roots showdown. The contest may come down to whether the Democratic Party's traditional allies can overcome what appears to be a surge of local enthusiasm for the Republican candidate.

(More here.)