By Ros Krasny
BOSTON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will campaign in Massachusetts on Sunday for a Senate Democratic candidate facing a tough fight in a race with potential implications for the national healthcare debate.
Obama's planned visit would follow two appearances by former President Bill Clinton on Friday on behalf of state Attorney-General Martha Coakley, whose campaign for Tuesday's election is struggling.
U.S. Senator John Kerry and much of the state's Democratic leadership joined Clinton at a packed rally of party faithful in a downtown Boston hotel.
Some polls show Coakley is behind her Republican opponent, state Senator Scott Brown, in a race for the seat held by the late Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy for almost 47 years.
'I know what's going on, because I've seen this movie before,' said Clinton. 'This is a massive national effort to discourage progressive independents from voting, and to discourage liberals from voting.'
A loss by Coakley could hamper Democrats' ability to pass a healthcare overhaul, Obama's top domestic priority, and other legislation.
'I think the president believes he can be helpful and is happy to accept the invitation,' White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Friday.
Obama, who issued an email and Web video for Coakley this week, had not planned to personally travel to Massachusetts.
But Democrats have become increasingly anxious about the possibility of losing the race, which would be a huge upset in the liberal New England state.
Massachusetts is usually a reliably Democratic state. Obama carried the state by a wide margin in 2009, and Coakley had held a 30-point lead in the polls last month.
Brown has made a strong showing by running a campaign tapping into disaffection about healthcare reform and the state of the national economy.
OPINION POLLS MIXED
A Suffolk University poll on Thursday gave Brown a 50 percent-46 percent lead over Coakley.
Other polls, including one commissioned by the liberal blog BlueMassGroup, show Coakley with an 8-point advantage.
Survey methodology might be skewed by factors related to the unusual, out-of-season election, said James Gomes, director of the Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts.
'All the polls are using slightly different screens on who the likely voters are,' Gomes said.
With Republicans sensing a chance to slow what they call Obama's liberal agenda, and Democrats anxious to hold on to Kennedy's seat, both parties have been pouring millions of dollars into the state for television advertising and get-out-the vote efforts.
Democrats control 60 votes in the Senate to 40 for the Republicans. The loss of one seat, and thus their supermajority, could hamper the Democrats' ability to cut off debate and proceed to a vote on healthcare reform.
Brown has vowed to vote against the healthcare bill should he pull off an win.
Obama's last round of campaigning was not a success -- he had campaigned on behalf of Democratic candidates for governor in Virginia and New Jersey and both lost in November.
Republicans hope to make inroads into the Democrats' strong majorities in the Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives in November congressional elections.
The party in power typically loses seats in the first election after a new president takes office.
(Additional reporting by Steve Holland in Washington; editing by Mohammad Zargham) Keywords: USA POLITICS/OBAMA (Ros.Krasny@thomsonreuters.com; +1 617 856 4343; Reuters Messaging: ros.krasny.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
BOSTON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will campaign in Massachusetts on Sunday for a Senate Democratic candidate facing a tough fight in a race with potential implications for the national healthcare debate.
Obama's planned visit would follow two appearances by former President Bill Clinton on Friday on behalf of state Attorney-General Martha Coakley, whose campaign for Tuesday's election is struggling.
U.S. Senator John Kerry and much of the state's Democratic leadership joined Clinton at a packed rally of party faithful in a downtown Boston hotel.
Some polls show Coakley is behind her Republican opponent, state Senator Scott Brown, in a race for the seat held by the late Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy for almost 47 years.
'I know what's going on, because I've seen this movie before,' said Clinton. 'This is a massive national effort to discourage progressive independents from voting, and to discourage liberals from voting.'
A loss by Coakley could hamper Democrats' ability to pass a healthcare overhaul, Obama's top domestic priority, and other legislation.
'I think the president believes he can be helpful and is happy to accept the invitation,' White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Friday.
Obama, who issued an email and Web video for Coakley this week, had not planned to personally travel to Massachusetts.
But Democrats have become increasingly anxious about the possibility of losing the race, which would be a huge upset in the liberal New England state.
Massachusetts is usually a reliably Democratic state. Obama carried the state by a wide margin in 2009, and Coakley had held a 30-point lead in the polls last month.
Brown has made a strong showing by running a campaign tapping into disaffection about healthcare reform and the state of the national economy.
OPINION POLLS MIXED
A Suffolk University poll on Thursday gave Brown a 50 percent-46 percent lead over Coakley.
Other polls, including one commissioned by the liberal blog BlueMassGroup, show Coakley with an 8-point advantage.
Survey methodology might be skewed by factors related to the unusual, out-of-season election, said James Gomes, director of the Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts.
'All the polls are using slightly different screens on who the likely voters are,' Gomes said.
With Republicans sensing a chance to slow what they call Obama's liberal agenda, and Democrats anxious to hold on to Kennedy's seat, both parties have been pouring millions of dollars into the state for television advertising and get-out-the vote efforts.
Democrats control 60 votes in the Senate to 40 for the Republicans. The loss of one seat, and thus their supermajority, could hamper the Democrats' ability to cut off debate and proceed to a vote on healthcare reform.
Brown has vowed to vote against the healthcare bill should he pull off an win.
Obama's last round of campaigning was not a success -- he had campaigned on behalf of Democratic candidates for governor in Virginia and New Jersey and both lost in November.
Republicans hope to make inroads into the Democrats' strong majorities in the Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives in November congressional elections.
The party in power typically loses seats in the first election after a new president takes office.
(Additional reporting by Steve Holland in Washington; editing by Mohammad Zargham) Keywords: USA POLITICS/OBAMA (Ros.Krasny@thomsonreuters.com; +1 617 856 4343; Reuters Messaging: ros.krasny.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.