"Immense Upset Victory"

WASHINGTON, D.C., January 19, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Republican U.S. Senate candidate Scott Brown pulled an immense upset victory in Massachusetts’ special election Tuesday night, overtaking Democrat Martha Coakley by five points with three out of four districts reporting.

A meeting of key pro-life leaders in the nation’s capital erupted in cheers as 75% of districts confirmed Brown’s lead over Coakley, swinging open the door to a possible defeat for the health care bill widely decried as the largest expansion of abortion since Roe v. Wade.

Brown, who unexpectedly exploded in popularity in the deeply Democratic state, promised to be the 41st vote against the health care bill and shatter the Democrats’ filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.

President Obama placed calls to both of the candidates after the results came in, according to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

In her concession speech, Coakley said that Obama told her “that we can’t win them all, and he knows that better than any, as he told me. But he appreciates what I did and what you did, and he said to extend his heartfelt thanks to everyone who worked on the campaign.”

Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life told LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) that the results mark a “pendulum swing” for the majority party on Capitol Hill.

“Americans love freedom. If Washington ignores the will of the people, as the Democratic party has been doing in so many issues, the people respond at the voting booth to reclaim their own voice,” said Pavone.

“When the people feel powerless to change the minds of those in power, they change those in power.”