Brown and Elizabeth Warren Square Off in First Debate Tonight

Tonight Massachusetts voters get their first chance to watch Senate candidates Elizabeth Warren and Scott Brown go head-to-head in a televised debate.

The debate, which is hosted by WBZ-TV's Jon Keller, is the first in a series of four that will take place throughout the next month across the state. And in a race that has stayed as consistently close as this one, these debates offer both candidates a chance to break through and gain a solid lead in the polls.

"Debates usually don't change minds. Typically, they reinforce attitudes that are already there," says Jeffrey Berry, a professor of political science at Tufts University in Medford, Mass. "But the race is close, and a gaffe by one could be enough to even up the preferences right now which show Warren slightly up."

While recent polls have shown Warren with a slight advantage, in the deeply blue state of Massachusetts the toss-up status of the race is not what Democrats had hoped for at this stage in the game. Democrats have long viewed the Massachusetts seat, currently held by Republican Scott Brown, as one of if not their best chance for a pick-up in the general election. Republicans need a net gain of four seats in the Senate to win the majority, and a Democratic pick-up in Massachusetts makes that path to the majority much harder for the GOP. Tonight's debate could tip the scales in either direction.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/scott-brown-elizabeth-warren-square-off-debate-tonight/story?id=17274188#.UFsNo47v3bx