On January 19th, the state of Massachusetts will hold a special election to fill the seat of Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) who passed away in August.  The contest is between State Attorney General Martha Coakley (D-MA) and State Senator Scott Brown (R-MA).  To the surprise of many, a recent poll shows that the race is closer than expected.  A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in the state found that Coakley was ahead of Brown 50% to 41% with 7% undecided. 

Special elections typically feature lower turnout than regular elections.  This may help to explain why the race is closer than would otherwise be expected in Massachusetts.  When he was reelected in 2006, Kennedy carried 69% of the vote.

Another reason that Brown may be doing better than anticipated is his firm opposition to President Obama's takeover of the healthcare system.  A statement on Brown's website reads:

...I am opposed to the health care legislation that is under consideration in Congress and will vote against it. It will raise taxes, increase government spending and lower the quality of care, especially for elders on Medicare. I support strengthening the existing private market system with policies that will drive down costs and make it easier for people to purchase affordable insurance.

45% of Massachusetts residents oppose the reform bill making its way through Congress while 53% support it.  Rasmussen reports:

...as is the case nationally, those who feel strongly about the bill are more likely to be opposed.  The overall figures include 36% [of Mass. residents] who Strongly Oppose the plan while 27% Strongly Favor it.

The people of Massachusetts have experienced the failings of government-run health care first hand and, according to a separate Rasmussen poll, they very unsatisfied.  In 2006, the Massachusetts state legislature passed its own statewide health care reform.  The reform included provisions such as an individual mandate which are now being pushed on the federal level.  When asked, 36% of Massachusetts residents said that they consider the plan a failure while only 32% said that they consider it a success.  

In an opinion piece written for USNews, FreedomWorks Chairman Dick Armey explains why many Massachusetts residents believe that government-run health care has failed them:

The Massachusetts experiment... has left the state with the nation's most expensive insurance, with program spending up 70 percent in just three years and with a third of the uninsured remaining so. The cheapest insurance we can find in Massachusetts for an average family of four is $906 per month. In Iowa, it's $145. Different coverage, certainly, but at least in Iowa cheaper coverage choices exist.

If the people of Massachusetts elect Scott Brown to be their next Senator, he will break the Democrats filibuster proof majority and may be able to end their pursuit of a government takeover of the health care system.  As a Massachusetts resident, Brown knows better than anyone that government-run health care is bound to fail.