 Brown 's opponents in the general election were Democratic nominee , Attorney General Martha Coakley , and independent Joseph L. Kennedy ( no relation to the Kennedy family ) . At the outset , he faced overwhelming odds because he was relatively unknown compared to Coakley , he was running as a Republican in a very Democratic state , and much of his campaigning had to be done during the Christmas and New Year 's season when citizens do not generally pay much attention to politics . No Republican had been elected to the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts since Edward Brooke in 1972 . He polled far behind Coakley for several months , but closed the gap in the early weeks of January . 
