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.

[Ronaldus Magnus]

I just saw Toomeys concession,very classy,said he will support Spector and President Bush.

The question is how many of the 500,000 or so Republicans who voted for Toomey will do the same. I predict that Sen. Spector will be reelected, due mostly to cross-over voters, but that the President will loose by a greater margin than he did in 2000. RINO's like Ridge and Spector seldom have coat tails, and a great deal of the base feels that they were betrayed tonight. Time will tell.

[MJY1288]

I will never forget Arlen Spectors votes on SCOTUS nominee Robert Bork, and his siting of Scottish Law on his vote not to Impeach X42

[Notwithstanding]

Elections
Home Page

DOS Home Page

---

Unofficial 2004 General Primary Results
United States Senator

***1303.60% of the statewide voting districts currently reporting***
*** Election results were last updated at 12:55:57 AM on 04/28/2004 ***

To view a county-wide breakdown for a particular candidate, click that candidate's name.
For a county breakdown of the office, select the "County Breakdown for ..." link.

	Candidate	Votes

	HOEFFEL, JOSEPH M. (DEM)	514,657
	TOOMEY, PAT (REP)	480,677
	SPECTER, ARLEN (REP)	587,820

County Breakdown for United States Senator

---

2004 General Primary Results Menu

---

Pennsylvania Department of State
302 North Office Building,Harrisburg, PA 17120
Phone - (717) 787-6458

[Diddle E. Squat]

Much of rural PA is far more (in effect) secular than many would think. So the motivational mix of Christian conservative issues don't always directly translate in voting the way it might in other regions. It is still somewhat more socially conservative than many states, but some of that is based more on tradition-based beliefs than practicing religious beliefs. Kinda hard to explain.

[Redbob]

Phil Bredesen/Hillary! ???

Ye gads! I was going to try to sleep tonight...

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

Specter's 74-years-old. He doesn't need anyone. He'll do what he wants, starting in 2005.

A new interpretation of Scottish Law will allow the Pennsylvania DNC to appoint a Democrat to replace him when he retires in 2005, even though he is a "Republican". As usual, the Republicans will not object.

[jwalsh07]

Where and how did you get data on precinct voting????? The PA DOS website is virtually useless on election night.

[RobFromGa]

And look - I -really- dislike Specter, so your forcing me to defend him is actually causing me physical pain

LOLOL...I know exactly what you are talking about, I have had these same pains for the last hour or so...

[Redbob]

And Arlen Specter was one of those "GOP" senators, wasn't he?

But doggone, I hate when I'm wrong...

[Tribune7]

That' are state government in action. 1303.6 percent of precincts have reported.

NBC10, btw, has yet to call the race. They're waiting for the returns from 200 precincts. It's over but after Florida I'm giving NBC10 credit for patience.

[MJY1288]

You might be correct, but Spector still has a debt to pay for getting GWB to campaign for him, whether he will honor that debt remains to be seen. I just wish Toomey would have won and we would all rally behind Toomey this November.

This is a sad day for Pennsylvania. Arlen Spector has never been a friend to Conservatives and IMHO isn't deserving of a place at the table.

[prisoner6]

We are not Florida Democrats...

Thank The Lord, LOL!

A toomey/Hoeffel race would have been ...interesting. It would have come down to two things...the weather and the very young and growing PA conservative momement.

There wouldn't have have been anything we could have done about the former, but the later would have made the difference.

The problem is PA conservatives are just begining to feel their oats. While losing to Arlen leaves a bad taste, we can at least savor making it such a close race. We got the wrod out...most likely awakened, converted a lot of voters. THAT is what will make the difference in the future.

FWIW I've always been pessimistic about the speed of the conservative movement not just in PA, but nationwide. It's gonna be a LONG HAUL folks. The thing to do now is not be bitter but continue to spread the word...keep up on Arlen's antics and make people aware. Get down in the trenches, at work, at local watering holes, at gatherings, and present The Cause. Not in an obnoxious way and not by grouching about the Toomey loss. Absorb it and move on.

And in a quiet was, built on a foundation of facts, spread The Word.

prisoner6

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

Me too. IMO, the Republican Party should jettison all RINO's, and then fall into the role of obstructing the Leftist agenda. The party seems to be best in this role.

[LdSentinal]

In '86, our Congress was controlled by the Dimocrats - that is, the "other" guys.

Actually, in 1986, Republicans controlled the senate. Only in 1987 did the Democrats regain the senate due to the '86 midterm elections.

[Redbob]

Or maybe what the "Conservatives are learning tonight" is that you can't beat an incumbent without outspending him, much less when he outspends you 4 or 5 to 1.

[Diddle E. Squat]

There are plenty of swing/GOP union voters in PA. I worked with 'em. And for a lot of them gun issues and common sense talk (balancing budgets, strong defense, etc.) are far more important as to why they registered GOP than abortions or Bork, though there really isn't a single stereotype for candidates to target. In my experience there is a lot more crossover mixing of issues for PA voters than in say Texas or Georgia.

[Redbob]

"Some people go the whole game and don't get the ball or their pictures in the newspapers."

You mean somebody besides my Dad was watching when I played?
Or were you just talking generalities?
<grin>

[Torie]

I made it all up John. Kerry is my role model. Moving right along, actually, I got it from the Penn SOS site, the few times it opened up.

Perry County 

 Candidate Votes 
 

 HOEFFEL, JOSEPH M. (DEM) 1,231 
 

 TOOMEY, PAT (REP) 3,273 
 

 SPECTER, ARLEN (REP) 3,609 
 

[RobFromGa]

thanks for FR!