United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, 2000

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United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, 2000

Flag of Pennsylvania.svg


  1994 November 7, 2000 2006  

  Rick Santorum official photo.jpg Ron Klink.jpg
Nominee Rick Santorum Ron Klink
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote2,481,9622,154,908
Percentage52.4%45.5%

Pennsylvania Senatorial Election Results by County, 2000.svg

County results

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. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Rick Santorum won re-election to a second term. [1]

Rick Santorum American politician

Richard John Santorum is an American politician, attorney, author, and political commentator. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2007 and was the Senate's third-ranking Republican from 2001 to 2007. Santorum ran for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, finishing second to Mitt Romney.

Contents

Major candidates

Democratic

Republican

Campaign

Santorum had gained a reputation as a polarizing figure during his first term in the Senate, but he entered the race with a large fundraising advantage and high levels of support from the political right. The contest began for Democrats with a brutal primary challenge; U.S. Congressman Klink narrowly bested State Senator Allyson Schwartz and former Lieutenant Governor nominee Tom Foley by portraying himself as the only candidate who could defeat Santorum. Klink was viewed as a viable choice because he was a traditional Democrat on most issues and had strong union ties but also was pro-life, which Democrats hoped would return votes to their party in the heavily Catholic but economically liberal coal regions of the state. However, enthusiasm around Klink's campaign quickly waned. 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 ad on Philadelphia television. Santorum, in contrast, successfully balanced his national recognition on social issues with local concerns en route to a surprisingly large victory. [2] Ultimately, Klink only carried eight counties.

Allyson Schwartz American politician

Allyson Young Schwartz is a former member of the United States House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district, serving from 2005–2015. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district included parts of Montgomery County and Northeast Philadelphia. She was also National Chair for Recruitment and Candidate Services for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. In the 2014 election, Schwartz was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Pennsylvania, but was defeated in the primary.

Debates

Results

General election results [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Republican Rick Santorum (Incumbent) 2,481,962 52.4% +3.0%
Democratic Ron Klink 2,154,90845.5%-8.6%
Libertarian John Featherman45,7751.0%-0.7%
Constitution Lester Searer28,3820.6%+0.6%
Reform Robert Domske24,0890.5%+0.5%
Majority327,0546.9%+4.4%
Total votes4,735,116100

See also

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References