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"Independent U.S. Senate candidate Joseph L. Kennedy predicted he'll be the kingmaker in a close race tomorrow," reports the Boston Herald this morning, "saying he'll likely throw the election to upstart Republican state Sen. Scott Brown. 'He wouldn't have a win without me,' said Kennedy, a Libertarian running as an unenrolled candidate, adding he expects to draw voters from Democrat Martha Coakley...Even though he acknowledged his support could be enough to keep Coakley from overtaking Brown, Kennedy bristled at being called a spoiler. Rather, he sees himself as an instrument of change. 'If they lose by the margin of votes I get, maybe next time the Democrats will find a different candidate,' Kennedy crowed."

Stay tuned.

William Rivers Pitt

6:08 am PDT: It's snowing in Boston.

The polls in Massachusetts have been open for two hours, but it looks as if the flakes have been coming down for longer than that.  The Brown-Coakley election to fill Ted Kennedy's seat will ultimately swing on a number of factors - get-out-the-vote organization, general voter turnout, party enthusiasm, independent voters - but the snow might wind up being the biggest of them all.

The gloomy weather matches the mood of many Coakley supporters here and nationwide.  GOP candidate Scott Brown has surged more than 30 points in the last few weeks, and in certain circles, the blame game is already beginning to shape up.

"Yesterday, I drove the length of Blue Hill Ave. and counted exactly two Martha Coakley signs," writes Boston Globe columnist Kevin Cullen. "One of them was on a fence next to the Roxbury Energy Gas station, on the corner of Moreland Street. The sign wasn't properly fastened. It flapped in the wind, revealing a 'Mike Flaherty for Mayor' sign underneath. If Martha Coakley loses today, it won't be because she didn't put up enough signs on Blue Hill Ave. It'll be because she failed to convince enough of the people who put up the Obama signs on Blue Hill Ave. and a lot of other avenues across Massachusetts that Obama's ability to get anything done depends on her winning the election."