Specter Wins 51-49 Republican Senatorial Primary: live thread

4/27/2004 | self

[rudy45]

My apologies if a thread already exists. I did a search on "Toomey" and found nothing.

I arrived at my polling area (suburban Philadelphia) at 6:45 am to hand out palm cards. The weather is terrific this morning, but turnout (I thought) was light (I had to leave at 9:15, but will be back).

Actually, I have a good feeling about Pat.

[LenS]

That's normal in close races. The Dems usually save some safe urban districts for late in the count. I was just wondering which cities they were.

[Antoninus]

I'm afraid that Specter will lose in November. He's vulnerable now so this is one state where the Dems can help their Senate chances. Hoeffel will get more votes in Philly than Lynn Yeakel got (he does represent part of it) and a good number of Toomey voters won't vote for Specter. So Bush and Santorum just lost this Senate seat.

Not only that, he just spent his last dime to defeat Toomey. I wouldn't count on any funding from George Soros in the general election if I were him. And worst of all, you KNOW whatever commercials he runs against Hoeffel won't be half as bad as those he ran against Toomey.

[miner89]

This forum is full of tired, bleary-eyed dissappointed people. Such is the way of politics. I suggest you get some sleep and let the flame wars slide for the night.

[ClintonBeGone]

Funny that the Specterites are nowhere to be found.

I think they're waiting for Toomey's concession speech.

[Jorge]

Channel 10 hasn't declared a winner and there are 400 precincts to be counted.

Channel 6 in Philly has just called it for Specter.
This is good news for Republicans and good news for Bush. Toomey would have lost the general election.

[big time major leaguer]

Crap. You guys got this Texan all excited. I was ready to move back to the state of my ancestors.

[Hank Rearden]

BUT - let's all kiss and make up. I think Specter will beat Hoeffel in November, and that Bush SHOULD win PA.

And then Sphincter, on the Judiciary Committee, will proceed to torpedo any conservative judicial nominees.

Way to go, George.

[sinkspur]

Does Bush learn anything? Rumsfeld? I'm all for our efforts, but I'm tired of good Marines dying while politicians play their games.

What a Kerryesque thing to say.

[montag813]

This actually makes Bush look weak. His horse sucked and crossed the finish line panting like an old nag...

Yep. Rove just doesn't get this.

[Torie]

Some of the most conservative counties in Penn voted for Specter, based on what I saw. Check out Perry County. I am going out on a limb, because I don't have a real handle on final county data. Toomey also barely carried rock ribbed GOP York County. He carried Lancaster County, the premier GOP county of the state, with all those Amish, by not by a spectacular margin. Toomey lost a fair number of remote rural counties. It is all mixed up.

[HamiltonJay]

No it can't. This primary is the republican primary. I can show you people year after year that win their parties primaries hands down, but get spanked in the statewide general.

Primaries are not indicative of statewide general results. Particularly when you are talking about something likt this where even if Toomey does win, among republicans it would only be by the slimist of margins..

Toomey is toast statewide in a general.. Philadephia would eat him for breakfast and fart out his aftermath by brunch. Fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, it appears we won't have to worry about that, as it doesn't look like Toomey is going to do it.


96% reporting Specter 51 Toomey 49... its close, but looks like we won't be seeing Toomey in the general.

[deport]

The Dems usually save some safe urban districts for late in the count. I was just wondering which cities they were.

---

This is a republican primary.... what does the democrats have to do with it......

[Think free or die]

"My condolences to all fine social conservatives up in PA, ya'll put up a helluva effort!"

It just makes me sick all over again. I'm also disappointed with the results of our GOP congressional primary - Melissa Brown. Ugh. And it looks like Corbett over Castor for Attorney General. All the races closest to my heart went the wrong way. I had to turn off PCN with the gloating Gov. Rendell already talking about working with "Senator Hoeffel". Grrrrrr. Hoeffel has been my Congressman. When he walks past in our local Independence Day parade I turn my back. Can't even look at the smarmy guy.

[Prince Charles]

Karl Rove, I hope you're happy with what you've wrought.

[Fledermaus]

What a laugh...I gave up on intelligent debate around here months ago. You can't even discuss rational economics on jobs without being unindated with attacks calling you a "free traitor".

But I won't whine. I'll just go back to not posting. I apologize for breaking that recent practice.

[Tribune7]

It's crap news for conservatives.

[ClintonBeGone]

Rove just doesn't get this.

Easy fella. Rove knows exactly what he's doing. He got Dubya in the White House once and he's going to keep him there for 4 more years, your vote or not.

[free2freep]

When a good conservative like Pat Toomey gets kneecapped by the party machine, I wonder what place I have in this party.

Why do I donate hundreds of dollars? Why do I man the phones? Why do I post yard signs? When will the party represent me?

[LenS]

Well, this winning horse barely won despite massive spending that dwarfed his opponents and the endorsements of both the President and the more popular Senator. In a primary.

Specter should have rolled to an easy victory. He's a wounded duck now.

[Political Junkie Too]

Of course, I said if we had a seat to give.

We cannot lose the Senate whatsoever. The reason that we haven't seen any Supreme Court retirements in Bush's term is because of the firestorm that would erupt in the Judiciary Committee and the filibustering that would occur on the Senate floor. The Justices have been patiently waiting for the Republican margin in the Senate to increase. A Democrat-controlled Senate would make all of that futile. A Specter-led Judiciary Committee would not be as bad as that, but still not ideal.

One can only hope that a Bush-Santorum endorsement came with some serious strings attached, and that if Specter steps out of line in his new term that he will be severely and publicly rebuked by the White House and banished from all future insider meetings (politically castrated).

-PJ