The Massachusetts Question

The Boston Globe newspaper tried out its special U.S. Senate election capabilities online, causing a flurry of speculation this afternoon before results came in the evening. It was an apparent test pattern, but some readers were a bit stunned after logging on to the Globe's site featuring a county-by-county graphic of election results.

The winner in test-theory land? Martha Coakley by 1 percentage point over Republican Scott Brown. As for third party candidate Joe L. Kennedy, a Libertarian: Whoever was putting the graphic together didn't think much of his campaign other than he could possibly spoil results for Brown or that voters aren't fooled by his Camelotesque last name.

However, the actual result of the race to replace deceased Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy could be far different from the Globe's test projection.

News reports of the race that has been cast as a barometer for the health of Democrats across the nation indicate that with 18 percent of precincts reporting, Brown is leading Coakley 52-47 percent. The night, though, is young.

UPDATE: 9:30 p.m. Brown wins. Click here to get the results.

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