Well, I don’t know about total hatred. Bill Weld (Republican) was Governor. Mitt Romney (Republican) was Governor. Both in the last 20 years. Yes, MA is a Democrat state. But it voted for Reagan in 1984.
1) Low turnout because it’s a special election.
2) People not liking Obama hurts Coakley.
Brown has a much better shot than a R would typically have in MA.
RINOs. Period. And governors can't do major damage to the nation. Senators can (and in the case of Massachusetts) will.
Like saying people not liking Carter hurt Kennedy or Tsongas.