Brown Mania Grips Massachusetts

The enthusiasm gap in Massachusetts today looks more like a chasm. Everywhere Scott Brown went yesterday he found himself bombarded by euphoric fans. Some were bused in, sure, and some were from out of state, “but most were Massachusetts conservatives who felt like their votes mattered for the first time,” writes Christopher Beam of Slate. Coakley’s crowds were decidedly smaller, and less energetic.

“I can’t sleep,” said one excited Republican. “It’s all I can think about.” Brown’s supporters see Coakley as some kind of hellspawn, using words like “vindictive,” “cold,” and “uninformed,” and see their own pickup truck-driving candidate, who one sign dubbed "Hottie McAwesome," as a superstar. “If he becomes senator, he’s going to be president,” one supporter gushed. The air is thick with an “is-this-really-happening, holy-crap-it’s-really-happening kind of feel.” Democrats can’t imagine a GOP victory, but Republicans suddenly can. (More Scott Brown stories.)