Massachusetts citizens will head to the polls this Tuesday, January 19 to cast their vote for either Democrat Martha Coakley, or Republican Scott Brown. The winner of the special election will fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the death of Senator Ted Kennedy.

After the Senate primaries on December 8th, the field of candidates was narrowed to Coakley, the Democratic State Attorney General, and Brown, a Republican State Senator who represents Wayland. Immediately following the primaries Coakley had a sizable lead over Brown according to opinion polls, but in the last few weeks Brown has closed much of the gap.

In the a recent poll conducted by Suffolk University, Scott Brown actually passed Martha Coakley,  50% to  47%.

Coakley had done little advertising or campaigning until recently when Brown’s poll numbers began to rise. Yet even with Brown’s new surge of support, he is not expected to win, according to many commentators. Democrats outnumber Republicans in Massachusetts 3 to 1.

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However, the election is expected to be much closer than previously thought. Historically, Massachusetts has elected mainly Democrats to the Senate. The last Republican to be elected to the Senate was Edward Brooke in 1966.

If Brown wins, Democrats would lose their supermajority in the Senate, imperiling President Obama’s Democratic agenda. The election will also be watched as a bellwether of the upcoming midterm elections in November, especially after two Democratic Senators recently announced that they would not be running for re-election.

Coakley has been endorsed by Victoria Reggie Kennedy, the widow of Senator Edward Kennedy, Tom Conroy, the Democratic state representative of Wayland, and Niki Tsongas, Wayland’s congresswoman.

Over this past weekend both candidates have brought in heavy support. President Obama  and former President Clinton have endorsed Martha Coakley and have helped her campaign this weekend, while former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has done the same for Scott Brown.