The Most Interesting Electoral Race Of 2012

The two people pictured above are Elizabeth Warren and Scott Brown. Brown is the current Republican senator from Massachusetts, and Warren is his Democratic opponent in this year's election. They are in the middle of what I think could well be the most interesting political race of this year.

I say that for a couple of reasons. One is the importance of the race. This may be the Democrat's best chance to take a seat now held by a Republican (with the exception of the seat being vacated by Olympia Snowe in Maine, which will go to either a Democrat or a moderately-progressive Independent).

The second reason is the closeness of this race. Polls have shown both with a small lead as the race jockeys back and forth. And the most recent poll shows them almost dead even. The Boston Globe Poll (conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center) has Brown with 37% and Warren with 35% (and 26% undecided). That's well within the poll's 4.2 point margin of error -- meaning if the election was held today either candidate could win it.

Both candidates have tried to paint the other as an out of the mainstream extremist. Brown has tried to frame Warren as a "Harvard elitist", and Warren has tried to frame Brown as being in lockstep with the extreme right-wing. Neither has succeeded -- at least not yet. Here's what the Boston Globe says about current perceptions of the two candidates:

Voters seem to have responded to Brown’s message that he is a moderate, independent, and likable political figure, looking out for the state’s interest regardless of party. And Warren, though less known, is seen by many as a consumer advocate, who would champion working people, tax the rich, and battle corporations.

There's still seven months to go until the November election, and a lot could happen with that much time to go. Hopefully, Democrats will be able to expose Brown's voting record in the Senate -- which is far from moderate. He has departed from his party on a couple of votes, but for the most part he has been a reliable vote in forwarding the extreme right-wing positions of the Republicans in Congress.

But right now, it's anybody's race to win. And combined with the importance it has in determining each party's strength in the next Senate, that makes it a very interesting race.