BOSTON -- Pulling off a feat that only a few weeks ago seemed all but impossible, a little-known Massachusetts Republican state senator has upended the state's entrenched Democratic party machine, claiming the U.S. Senate seat held by Ted Kennedy for 47 years and putting President Barack Obama's health care initiative in jeopardy.

"I will remember that while the honor is mine, this Senate seat belongs to no one person and no political party." - Scott Brown, Senator-Elect

"I’ll bet they can hear all this cheering down in Washington, D.C., and I hope they’re paying close attention, because tonight the independent voice of Massachusetts has spoken," Brown told a crowd of cheering supporters who broke out in a spontaneous chant of "Can't stop the truck."

"From the Berkshires to Boston, from Springfield to Cape Cod, the voters of this Commonwealth defied the odds and the experts. And tonight, the independent majority has delivered a great victory," Brown said.

"Every day I hold this office, I will give all that is in me to serve you well and make you proud. Most of all, I will remember that while the honor is mine, this Senate seat belongs to no one person and no political party -- and as I have said before, and you said loud and clear today, it is the people’s seat," he said.

More than 2 million Massachusetts voters went to the polls in a special election Tuesday, electing Scott Brown, 50, to a post that has not been held by a Republican since Sen. Ed Brooke lost the seat in 1979, and rejecting the state's well-financed Attorney General Martha Coakley, 56, who for months had been expected to coast to an easy victory in the race.

With 97 percent of the returns in, Brown had 52 percent of the vote to Coakley's 47 percent and just before 10 p.m. Coakley told supporters she had conceded the race.

"Scott Brown is the next United States senator," Brown's daughter Ayla howled to an ecstatic crowd at Brown's Boston campaign headquarters. "Let's celebrate, ya'll," the former American Idol contestant said before bursting into a rousing rendition of "Dancing in the Streets."

The election shocker came in one of the bluest states in the nation, a Democratic stronghold that now numbers more independent voters on its rolls than either Democrats or Republicans.

Polls that had shown Brown as much as 30 percent behind Coakley several weeks before the election, later indicated he was especially strong among those independent voters in the days leading up to the election.

The win was largely seen as a referendum on Obama's health care program, which Kennedy championed all his life, but many political pundits saw it more as the result of widespread voter dissatisfaction with the nation's lagging economy.

Obama called Brown to congratulate him on the win saying he "looks forward to working with him on the urgent economic challenges facing Massachusetts families and struggling families across our nation," according to a statement released by White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.

Brown, a lawyer who only began his political career only 14 years ago as a Wrentham, Mass., assessor and selectman, rose quickly, becoming a state representative and state senator in quick succession. He positioned himself throughout the race as a truck driving "everyman" concerned about the economy and jobs whose election would shake up Washington.

Brown's low-key campaign did not appear to have much of a chance against the state's monolithic Democratic party machine, but while Coakley stayed away from the campaign trail, raking up big money and high-profile endorsements from Obama, former President Bill Clinton and Kennedy's widow, Vicki, Brown plodded along, appearing at small rallies, shaking hands and keeping his message focused on the economy.

Brown targeted his message to the state's independent voters, who polls said were disenchanted with the Democrats long stranglehold on state politics and eager for change.

Rob Delgallo, an independent voter who showed up at Brown's election night celebration, said it was Brown's populist image that appealed to him.

"He represents what I stand for ... (he's) a regular guy. It's time for the Democrats to wake up. The people have spoken," Delgallo said.

"Ultimately, there was a rejection of the arrogance that was coming from Washington," said former Massachusetts Republican Gov. Mitt Romney, who is sometimes mentioned as a 2012 presidential contender.

Brown said as much in his victory remarks.

"In every corner of our state, I met with people, looked them in the eye, shook their hand, and asked them for their vote. I didn’t worry about their party affiliation, and they didn’t worry about mine. It was simply shared conviction that brought us all together," he said.

"One thing is clear, voters do not want the trillion-dollar health care bill that is being forced on the American people.This bill is not being debated openly and fairly. It will raise taxes, hurt Medicare, destroy jobs, and run our nation deeper into debt. It is not in the interest of our state or country -- we can do better," Brown said.

Massachusetts Democratic U.S. Rep Niki Tsongas admitted that Brown's win signals voter concern and unrest that Democrats need to address.

"These are very uncertain times and voters have a lot of questions," Tsongas said.

It wasn't until polls began to show a Brown surge only a week before the election that the Republican party even begin to show much interest in the race, with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani arriving in Boston to stump for Brown in the shadow of the city's Old North Church, and former Red Sox pitching ace Curt Schilling emerging to urge voters to cast their ballots for him.

Massachusetts Republican National Committeeman Ron Kaufman admitted that the RNC had little involvement in the Brown race until the end, saying his popularity almost took party operatives by surprise. He attributed Brown's surge in the polls to the candidate's own grassroots campaign efforts.

Brown's victory amounts to a real-life political Cinderella story for the Wakefield, Mass., native who worked his way through Tufts University and Boston College Law School, sometimes acting and modeling to pay tuition bills. The work garnered him the title of "America's Sexiest Man," by Cosmopolitan magazine when he was 22, the $1,000 prize money he was paid for a near-nude centerfold going toward tuition, he said.

Brown joined the Massachusetts National Guard as a college undergrad and continues to serve as a lieutenant colonel in the Judge Advocate General's Corps. Brown has never seen combat, but has had brief assignments in Paraguay and Kazakhstan.

During his six terms in the Massachusetts legislature Brown has focused on veterans issues, serving on committees devoted to veterans affairs and sponsoring a 2007 state law that allows veterans to indicate their service in Iraq or Afghanistan on state income tax forms. The information is used to inform them of services and benefits, including a $1,000 "Welcome Home" bonus.

Brown lives in Wrentham with his wife, Gail Brown, a WCVB-TV television reporter, and his two daughters, Ayla, a former "American Idol" contestant, and Arianna, a Syracuse University student.