Republican Scott Brown was elected a U.S. senator last night.
Those words — which seemed inconceivable just two weeks ago — rang true in a political shocker that reverberated across the country last night.
Brown won in nearly every North Shore community — several by double-digit margins — and captured a comfortable, 5 percent victory statewide.
The unlikely triumph over Democratic Attorney General Martha Coakley, which figures to directly affect President Obama's health care reform bill, puts a Republican in the seat long held by one of the Senate's most liberal leaders, Ted Kennedy. Not since Beverly's Henry Cabot Lodge held office from 1947 to 19753has a Republican occupied that seat.
At the Brown victory party in Boston last night, Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker of Swampscott described the atmosphere as "euphoric" and credited Brown for focusing on themes that struck a chord with voters.
"Scott ran a great campaign and focused on a few issues, like jobs, spending, the economy, and it really resonated with people once they started paying attention," Baker said.
Some political observers have said those same issues may help Republicans, including Baker, who plan to challenge potentially vulnerable, incumbent Democrats.
"I think this election was certainly about the economy and jobs and spending and taxes, and I think the election in the fall will be about those, too," Baker said.
Brown captured every North Shore community except Salem, where Coakley won by 7 percent.
In smaller towns, such as Boxford and Middleton, Brown cruised to victory by close to 40 percentage points.
The excitement around Brown was visible at polling locations across the North Shore yesterday, as groups of supporters held homemade signs and waved to voters.
Wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words "I'm not Obama's ATM," Danvers Selectman Keith Lucy stood next to a sign proclaiming that "Massachusetts Now Matters."
In the end, Brown managed to energize voters in a way Coakley simply couldn't.
Standing on a snowbank in front of a Dunkin' Donuts in Danvers on Monday morning, John Tetrault of Peabody held a Brown sign for more than two hours in the wind and driving snow.
A self-described independent, Tetrault couldn't believe a Coakley comment in The Boston Globe that seemed to suggest she was beyond standing outside Fenway Park in the cold, shaking hands with voters.
"I'm 70 years old, and here I am doing what I think is right," Tetrault shot back. "He's not afraid to get out and meet us."
Voter turnout was high, a reflection of the intense national media spotlight, the millions of dollars pumped into last-minute television ads and the steady barrage of robocalls over the weekend. Voters flocked in unusually high numbers for a nonpresidential election.
Turnout in Salem hit 60 percent. Beverly's was 61 percent. Turnout in Peabody and Danvers was 57 percent.
Voters endured a steady mix of snow and sleet to get to the polls yesterday.
At times, the road leading to Danvers High School — the only polling location in this town of approximately 16,000 voters — was completely jammed. Around 6:30 p.m., a long line of cars stretched for a mile down Cabot Road, turned right onto Chestnut Street and out to Poplar Street.
"Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous," said Danvers voter Jeanne Bertoncini, who spent 34 minutes stuck in traffic. "I did see people turning around and (leaving) — and that's not good."
The long traffic jam raised the question among town officials of what to do if cars were still backed up when the polls closed. Lucy, the Danvers selectman, said the plan was to allow drivers to park on the side of Cabot Road and walk into the polls. But that strategy was deemed unnecessary as the volume of cars thinned out in the final hour of voting.
"I think we got lucky," Lucy said.
Town Clerk Joseph Collins blamed the snow and slick road conditions for the traffic, noting that they didn't experience the same problems during the presidential election, which drew a higher turnout.
Earlier in the day, the Coakley campaign raised allegations of ballot tampering in a few communities, including Beverly. City Clerk Frances Macdonald confirmed that a poll worker at Centerville School accidentally handed out three completed absentee ballots that "could have been (marked) Brown" to voters yesterday afternoon.
"Three were given out, and it was caught immediately," Macdonald said. "Two of (the voters) took new ballots. The third person left in a huff."
Now the focus shifts to national politics.
While the Coakley campaign spent much of the weekend reminding its base that her victory would signal the passage of the president's health care bill, that's exactly what motivated Susan Keown of Peabody — to vote for Brown.
Others viewed Brown as the candidate that could help move the country in a new direction.
"I'm just sick of the way our government is being run," Elaine Assaf of Peabody said. "I'm up for a change."
Staff writers Alan Burke, Ethan Forman, Paul Leighton and Matthew K. Roy contributed to this report. Staff writer Chris Cassidy can be reached at ccassidy@salemnews.com.
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