New Poll Has Coakley Leading Brown by 8 in Massachusetts Senate Race

Democratic Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley holds a 49 percent to 41 percent lead over Republican state Sen. Scott Brown in the race to fill the seat of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, according to a Research 2000 poll conducted Jan. 12-13 for the Blue Mass Group blog. The margin of error is 4 points.

Libertarian Joseph Lewis Kennedy, an information technology specialist who is no relation to the Kennedy clan, gets 5 points, and 5 percent are undecided.

Independents favor Brown over Coakley by 49 percent to 36 percent with 11 percent backing Kennedy. Both Coakley and Brown get about the same level of support from each of their own parties.

For more on the race and to see other polls:

New York Times: Democrats Fight to Hold Crucial Seat - Kennedy's

Boston Globe: In short race, Coakley picks targets carefully

Boston Globe: Brown pushes far beyond his GOP base

Washington Post: In Massachusetts, Republican Brown steps up campaign for Kennedy's Senate seat

FiveThirtyEight.com: Massachusetts - It's Not Just About Turnout

Politics Daily: The Winner Will Be No Adams, Webster, or Kennedy

Rasmussen Reports: Coakley 49 percent, Brown 47 percent

Boston Globe: Coakley 50 percent, Brown 35 percent

Public Policy Polling: Brown 48 percent, Coakley 47 percent

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