![]() | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
![]() County results | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
The Pennsylvania gubernatorial election of 1978 was held on November 7, 1978 between Republican Dick Thornburgh and Democrat Pete Flaherty.
The race began with a primary that slated an impressive field of candidates. Flaherty, the former Mayor of Pittsburgh who was known for providing a progressive challenge to urban machine politics, bested State Auditor General Bob Casey, who had lost the Democratic nomination for this office twice before. Casey's campaign was greatly hurt by the presence of another Bob Casey who was running on the ballot for Lieutenant Governor; voters apparently believed they were selecting a ticket of Flaherty and the Auditor General when they chose the Pittsburgh teacher as the Democratic running mate. Lieutenant Governor Ernie Kline, who was frequently known as "assistant governor" during his time in office due to his policy skills, was endorsed by outgoing governor Milton Shapp, but finished a distant third.
Thornburgh's win came over the Republican leaders of both houses of the state legislature (House Minority Leader Bob Butera and Senate Minority Leader Henry Hager), as well as a former US Attorney, Dave Marston. Former Philadelphia District Attorney and future senator Arlen Specter was considered the front-runner in the months preceding the primary, but the moderate urban Republican's campaign faded as Thornburgh presented himself as a leader than could bridge both wings of the party. [1]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Pete Flaherty | 574,899 | 44.89 | |
Democratic | Bob Casey | 445,146 | 34.76 | |
Democratic | Ernie Kline | 223,811 | 17.48 | |
Democratic | Jennifer Wesner | 36,770 | 2.87 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Dick Thornburgh | 325,376 | 32.63 | |
Republican | Arlen Specter | 206,802 | 20.74 | |
Republican | Bob Butera | 190,653 | 19.12 | |
Republican | Dave Marston | 161,813 | 16.23 | |
Republican | Henry Hager | 57,119 | 5.73 | |
Republican | Andrew Watson | 48,460 | 4.86 | |
Republican | Alvin Jacobson | 7,101 | .71 |
Flaherty out-polled Thornburgh by double-digit margins for much of the campaign, but the Republican candidate used highly effective strategies to close the gap in the weeks leading up to election night. Thornburgh was successful in recruiting suburban moderates, as fellow moderate Republican Specter encouraged his metro Philadelphia supporters to rally behind Thornburgh. In contrast, the liberal Flaherty had trouble reaching out to conservative Democrats outside of his Western Pennsylvania base, a problem hindered by Casey's tepid support for the candidate over the lieutenant gubernatorial issue. Thornburgh also aggressively courted traditionally Democratic-leaning groups and gained the endorsements of the NAACP and several labor unions. Democratic support slowly waned under this strategy, which allowed Thornburgh to take a close victory. [1]
Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 1978 [4] [5] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Running mate | Votes | Percentage | |
Republican | Dick Thornburgh | Bill Scranton III | 1,996,042 | 52.54% | |
Democratic | Pete Flaherty | Bob Casey | 1,737,888 | 46.44% | |
Socialist Workers | Mark Zola | Naomi Berman | 20,062 | 0.54% | |
Consumer | Lee Frissell | Betty Burkett | 17,593 | 0.47% | |
Write-ins | Write-in | 384 | 0.01% | ||
Totals | 3,741,969 | 100.00% | |||
Voter turnout (Voting age population) | 64.60% |
Robert Patrick Casey Sr. was an American lawyer and politician from Pennsylvania. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 42nd Governor of Pennsylvania from 1987-95. He previously served as a state senator (1963–68) and Auditor General of Pennsylvania (1969–77).
The 1986 United States Senate elections was an election for the United States Senate in the middle of Ronald Reagan's second presidential term. The Republicans had to defend an unusually large number of freshman Senate incumbents who had been elected on President Ronald Reagan's coattails in 1980. Democrats won a net of eight seats, defeating seven freshman incumbents and regaining control of the Senate for the first time since January 1981. The party not controlling the presidency gained seats, as usually occurs in mid-term elections.
The 1980 United States Senate elections coincided with Ronald Reagan's victory in the presidential election. Reagan's large margin of victory over incumbent Jimmy Carter pulled in many Democratic voters and gave a huge boost to Republican Senate candidates.
The 2006 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican Rick Santorum ran for re-election to a third term, but was defeated by Bob Casey, Jr., the son of Former Pennsylvania governor Bob Casey Sr. Casey was elected to serve between January 3, 2007 and January 3, 2013. Santorum trailed Casey in every public poll taken during the campaign. Casey's margin of victory was the largest ever for a Democratic Senate nominee in Pennsylvania, and the largest margin of victory for a Senate challenger in the 2006 elections. When Casey took office two months later, he became the first Democrat sworn in for a full term in the Senate from Pennsylvania since Joseph S. Clark Jr. won a second term in 1962.
Barbara Hafer is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Initially a member of the Republican Party, she served as a member of the Allegheny County Board of Commissioners from 1984 to 1989, as the Auditor General of Pennsylvania from 1989 to 1997 and as the Treasurer of Pennsylvania from 1997 to 2005.
Donald Allen "Don" Bailey is an American politician and lawyer, from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1983, Auditor General of Pennsylvania from 1985 to 1989, and a candidate for the Democratic nomination for United States Senate and Governor of Pennsylvania. His Congressional District (PA-21) included all of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania with a sliver of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, prior to the 1981 redistricting.
The Republican Party of Pennsylvania, commonly known as the PA GOP, is based in Harrisburg in the United States state of Pennsylvania. It is affiliated with the Republican Party of the United States.
Jack E. Wagner is a Democratic politician from Pennsylvania. He is a former State Auditor General, and has also served in the State Senate and Pittsburgh City Council.
The Pennsylvania Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Pennsylvania. The party has had strong support in the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia area for a long time, having controlled the mayoral office in Philadelphia since 1952, and the Pittsburgh Mayoral office since 1933. As of January 20, 2015 the party holds all five statewide executive offices after electing Tom Wolf governor in the 2014 elections. This trend has continued following the 2016 Elections where all statewide Democrats were either re-elected or were replaced by another Democrat.
The 1991 United States Senate Special election in Pennsylvania was held on November 5, 1991. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Harris Wofford won the special election that was held because of the death of Republican Senator John Heinz on April 4 of that year. Wofford was appointed by Governor Bob Casey to serve as Senator until the special election which he subsequently won. Major-party candidates for this election were chosen by party committees, as the vacancy had happened too late for a primary to be held.
The 2010 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania took place on November 2, 2010, during the 2010 midterm elections. Incumbent Republican-turned-Democrat U.S. Senator Arlen Specter ran for reelection to a sixth term, but lost in the Democratic primary to Joe Sestak. Republican nominee Pat Toomey then won the seat.
Electoral history of Arlen Specter, former United States Senator from Pennsylvania (1981–2011), Chairman of the Senate Committees on Intelligence (1995–1997), Veterans' Affairs and Judiciary (2005–2007), as well as a candidate for the 1996 Republican presidential nomination.
The Pennsylvania gubernatorial election of 1994 was held on November 8, 1994. The incumbent governor, Bob Casey, Sr. (Democrat), was barred from seeking a third term by the state constitution. The Republican Party nominated Congressman Tom Ridge, while the Democrats nominated Mark Singel, Casey's lieutenant governor. Ridge went on to win the race with 45% of the vote. Singel finished with 39%, and Constitution Party candidate Peg Luksik finished third, garnering 12% of the vote.
The Pennsylvania Gubernatorial election of 1990 was held on November 6, 1990. Incumbent Democratic Robert P. Casey easily defeated Republican Barbara Hafer. Governor Casey defeated Ms. Hafer by a margin of 35.29%, and carried 66 out of 67 Pennsylvania counties.
The Pennsylvania Gubernatorial election of 1986 was held on November 4, 1986. Democrat Bob Casey narrowly defeated Republican Bill Scranton III, in a race that featured two very high-profile candidates.
The Pennsylvania gubernatorial election of 1970 was held on November 3. Democrat Milton Shapp challenged incumbent Republican Lieutenant Governor Ray Broderick.
The 1980 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on November 4, 1980. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Richard Schweiker decided to retire, instead of seeking a third term. Republican nominee Arlen Specter won the open seat, defeating Democratic nominee Peter F. Flaherty.
The Pennsylvania gubernatorial election of 1966 was held on November 8. Republican Ray Shafer, the state's incumbent Lieutenant Governor, was elected to the state's highest office after holding off a charge from future governor Milton Shapp.