2000_United_States_Senate_election_in_Pennsylvania Knowpia

2000 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania
	Santorum: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90%; Klink: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90%; Tie: 50% No data
U.S. senator before election; Rick Santorum; Republican	Elected U.S. Senator ; Rick Santorum; Republican

The 2000 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on November 7, 2000 during a year which coincided with a United States presidential election in which Pennsylvania was viewed as a swing state.^[1]^[2] Pennsylvania was one of four states that elected Republican Senators despite being won by Al Gore in the concurrent presidential election, the others being Maine, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Rick Santorum won re-election to a second term.^[3] As of 2024^[update], this was the last time a Republican won the Class 1 Senate seat from Pennsylvania.

Republican primary edit

2000 Republican U.S. Senate primary^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Rick Santorum (inc.)	545,687	100.00%
Total votes			545,687	100.00%

Democratic primary edit

Candidates edit

Phil Berg
Tom Foley, former Pennsylvania Secretary of Labor and Industry and nominee for Lt. Governor in 1994
Ron Klink, U.S. Representative from Murrysville
Murray Levin
Robert A. Rovner, former Republican State Senator from Philadelphia
Allyson Schwartz, State Senator from Northeast Philadelphia

Campaign edit

The contest began for Democrats with a close primary challenge; U.S. Congressman Klink narrowly defeated State Senator Allyson Schwartz and former lieutenant governor nominee Tom Foley by portraying himself as the only candidate who could defeat Santorum.

Results edit

2000 Democratic U.S. Senate primary^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ron Klink	299,219	40.73%
	Democratic	Allyson Schwartz	194,763	26.52%
	Democratic	Tom Foley	184,003	25.05%
	Democratic	Bob Rovner	28,031	3.82%
	Democratic	Murray Levin	18,903	2.57%
	Democratic	Phil Berg	9,636	1.31%
Total votes			734,575	100.00

General election edit

Candidates edit

Robert Domske (Reform)
John Featherman (Libertarian)
Ron Klink, U.S. Representative from Murrysville (Democratic)
Rick Santorum, incumbent U.S. Senator since 1995 (Republican)
Lester Searer (Constitution)

Campaign edit

Santorum had gained a reputation as a polarizing figure during his first term in the Senate and had lost the support of more moderate members of his own party by 1999,^[5]^[6] but entered the race with a large fundraising advantage and high levels of support from the political right. Klink was viewed as a viable choice because he was a traditional Democrat on most issues and had strong union ties but also was opposed to abortion rights, which Democrats hoped would return votes to their party in the heavily Catholic but economically liberal coal regions of the state. The campaign turned increasingly negative as both candidates publicly questioned each other's integrity.^[7]

Enthusiasm around Klink's campaign then waned as liberal Democrats balked at donating to a candidate who was almost as socially conservative as Santorum. This was especially true in Philadelphia, where Klink was all but unknown. Klink was also badly outspent, leaving him unable to expand his presence in the state; he didn't run a single advertisement on Philadelphia television stations. Ultimately, Klink only carried eight counties as Santorum, who had achieved nationwide prominence for taking positions against abortion and LGBT rights in the United States, was ultimately able to secure victory.^[8]

Debates edit

Complete video of debate, September 30, 2000
Complete video of debate, October 14, 2000
Complete video of debate, October 23, 2000

Results edit

General election results^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Rick Santorum (incumbent)	2,481,962	52.42%	+3.02%
	Democratic	Ron Klink	2,154,908	45.51%	-1.41%
	Libertarian	John Featherman	45,775	0.97%	-0.71%
	Constitution	Lester Searer	28,382	0.60%	+0.6%
	Reform	Robert Domske	24,089	0.51%	+0.5%
Majority			327,054	6.91%	+4.43%
Total votes			4,735,116	100
	Republican hold

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican edit

Cambria (largest municipality: Johnstown)
Clinton (Largest city: Lock Haven)
Luzerne (largest municipality: Wilkes-Barre)

References edit

^ Resnick, Jolyn and Kalen Churcher. "Supporters rally in area for candidates." Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania: The Times Leader, November 7, 2000, p. 4 (subscription required).
^ Miller, Rhonda. "State GOP leaders rally the faithful: Six-city campaign tour ends at county airport." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 7, 2000, p. 8 (subscription required).
^ "Commonwealth of PA - Elections Information". Archived from the original on May 15, 2008. Retrieved May 16, 2008.
^ ^a ^b "Pennsylvania Elections | Summary Results". Retrieved September 27, 2023.
^ Jesdanun, Anick. "Santorum's views not right on." Danville, Pennsylvania: The Danville News, January 26, 1999, p. 5 (subscription required).
^ Brown, Jack. "Former congressman mulls run for Senate." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 7, 1999, p. 11 (subscription required).
^ Marx, Claude R. "Santorum, Klink spend final day making pleas for votes: The two candidates for Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate seat both predict victory in hotly contested race." Hazleton, Pennsylvania: Standard-Speaker, November 7, 2000, p. 1 (subscription required).
^ Pennsylvania Elections: Statewide Contests from 1950-2004
^ "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives".