United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, 1998
Encyclopedia
The 1998 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Arlen Specter
won re-election to a fourth term.
, the party had difficulty in finding a credible candidate. State Representative Bill Lloyd, who was a well-respected party leader but who had almost zero statewide name recognition, was considered to be a sacrificial lamb candidate. Specter ran a straightforward campaign and attempted to avoid mistakes, while Lloyd's bid was so underfunded that he was unable to air a single commercial until two weeks before the election. Lloyd's strategy was to portray Republicans as hyper-partisan in wake of their attempt to impeach President Bill Clinton
, but he was unable to gain any traction with his message. On Election Day, Specter's win was by the second largest margin in the history of Senate elections in Pennsylvania. He was only able to win in two counties: almost uniformly Democratic Philadelphia and his home county, rural and typically Republican Somerset County
.http://books.google.com/books?id=1J_9q-lIWRkC&pg=PA112&lpg=PA112&dq=1998+ridge+itkin&source=bl&ots=AK6b-Ut25d&sig=ln8QefiZodyBTkRiIzEYxTt21Ro&hl=en&ei=cPjETOLTOoOglAenj8EH&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CCQQ6AEwBQ#v=snippet&q=klink&f=false
Arlen Specter
Arlen Specter is a former United States Senator from Pennsylvania. Specter is a Democrat, but was a Republican from 1965 until switching to the Democratic Party in 2009...
won re-election to a fourth term.
Campaign
Leading up to this campaign, the state Democratic Party was in dire straights, as it was plagued by prior corruption allegations of several key legislators and by a lack of fundraising. Just as in the accompanying gubernatorial racePennsylvania gubernatorial election, 1998
The Pennsylvania Gubernatorial election of 1998 was held on November 3, 1998. It was between incumbent Republican Tom Ridge and Democrat Ivan Itkin. Ridge, a popular moderate, won with 57% of the votes cast. During this election cycle, Democrats struggled with fundraising issues and had difficulty...
, the party had difficulty in finding a credible candidate. State Representative Bill Lloyd, who was a well-respected party leader but who had almost zero statewide name recognition, was considered to be a sacrificial lamb candidate. Specter ran a straightforward campaign and attempted to avoid mistakes, while Lloyd's bid was so underfunded that he was unable to air a single commercial until two weeks before the election. Lloyd's strategy was to portray Republicans as hyper-partisan in wake of their attempt to impeach President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, but he was unable to gain any traction with his message. On Election Day, Specter's win was by the second largest margin in the history of Senate elections in Pennsylvania. He was only able to win in two counties: almost uniformly Democratic Philadelphia and his home county, rural and typically Republican Somerset County
Somerset County, Pennsylvania
Somerset County is a county located in the state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 77,742. Somerset County was created on April 17, 1795, from part of Bedford County and named for Somerset, United Kingdom. Its county seat is Somerset. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania,...
.http://books.google.com/books?id=1J_9q-lIWRkC&pg=PA112&lpg=PA112&dq=1998+ridge+itkin&source=bl&ots=AK6b-Ut25d&sig=ln8QefiZodyBTkRiIzEYxTt21Ro&hl=en&ei=cPjETOLTOoOglAenj8EH&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CCQQ6AEwBQ#v=snippet&q=klink&f=false