By Gabriela Resto-Montero
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN EAST — Alarmed Democrats turned out in force at a Midtown phone bank Tuesday to drum up support for Massachusetts senatorial candidate Martha Coakley as the race got down to the wire.
The possibility of a defeat of Coakley, who polls show was in a dead-heat with Republican rival Scott Brown for the seat vacated by late Sen. Edward Kennedy, had many Manhattan Democrats nervous.
"I never expected that this would happen," said Jonathan Stephens, who signed up for the first shift of phone calls at Organizing For America headquarters.
"I'm surprised that this could happen in such a progressive state," Stephens said.
Organizers originally planned for a maximum of 22 volunteers per three-hour shift at Organizing For America headquarters, but upped that amount to 50 after a deluge of phone calls from concerned Democrats, said Anne Stonehill, a community organizer from Gramercy.
Losing the seat would cost Democrats their super majority in the Senate and jeopardize passage of President Barack Obama's health care reform legislation.
"We've been very involved in health care here in New York," Stonehill said. "We understand that it is a local race."
Both parties look to voters' decision in the state as an indication of overall satisfaction with the president's agenda since Massachusetts passed universal health care reform in 2006.
New York Senator Kristen Gillibrand and Mayor Michael Bloomberg tested their influence with regional voters when they campaigned for Coakley, the State Attorney General.
"I'm from New York, I have no direct connection to Massachusetts," said Gabriel Nussbaum, a volunteer from the West Village. "What I do have is a little cousin with Cancer, that got me thinking about the distribution of health care."
During his turn at the phones, Nussbaum said he managed to convince one woman to vote for Coakley.
"Some other people have had angry calls," Nussbaum said. "But I think it's looking good."
