Candidates and supporters spent the daywrestling up last-minute votes in a race that wasby far the closest it's been since 1986.

Marjorie O'Neill Clapprood, who finishedfourth, was at the polls by 6 a.m., and traveledthroughout the district all day. Severalcandidates had phone banks set up, with hundredsof volunteers pleading with undecided Bay Staters.

Up until the last minutes before polls closedat 8 p.m. yesterday, there was little consensus onwho would pull ahead.

Cambridge political analyst James J. Raffertygave the nod to Flynn, noting that many pro-choicevoters may have been reluctant to tell pollstersthey were voting for him.

Others felt Capuano had a groundswell ofsupport after his performance in the campaign'sfinal debate on Sept. 7.

And Bachrach got a boost last week when TheBoston Globe endorsed his candidacy.

The latest poll numbers taken before theelection showed Capuano inching ahead by as muchas four percentage points.

Although statistically insignificant, theconsistency of the polls led many observers tobelieve the Somerville mayor had an edge.

There were signs early today that voters weregiving Capuano a second look.

As late as 1 p.m., voters were eagerlyaccessing Capuano's Web site, which overloadedseveral times.

As soon as Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II announcedhe would leave his seat last fall, Capuano, 46,immediately jumped into the fray, holding hisfirst fundraiser the night after Kennedy'sannouncement.

Although Capuano never amassed a bankroll likemillionaire candidates John O'Connor andChristopher F.O. Gabrielli '81, enthusiasticsupport amongst his Somerville constituents mayhave influenced a district looking for a strongvoice.

"He's a low-key guy," said Somerville residentFred Caruso.

"But he's a winner, pure and simple."

When Ray Flynn ended his quest to be governorand entered the race for the eighth, the field ofcandidates finally had what it lacked: a big name,with a big following, to boot.