Kennedy's Likely Replacement Chosen

Massachusetts came one step closer to figuring out who will replace Edward Kennedy in the Senate. With 94 percent of precincts reporting, state attorney general Martha Coakley looked sure to win Tuesday's Democratic primary, while state senator Scott Brown won the Republican nomination. Brown will likely face an uphill battle to win the Jan. 19 general election, as only 11 percent of the state's 4.1 million voters are registered Republicans, and a recent poll predicted that Coakley, whose office was among the first nationwide to pursue financial firms for allegedly misusing subprime mortgages, would trounce him. Coakley targeted female voters in the primary and received many contributions from women outside of the state. If elected, she'd be Massachusetts' first female senator, and would bring the number of women sitting in the Senate to a record of 18.