Yep, it couldn't have turned out any worse. Burns doesn't have a chance of beating Critz in November after losing in the special.
Gleason should be run out of town or worse, wouldn't surprise me if Gleason is happy about this because of business interests.
I'm not so sure about that. I think this election was a bit of a freak since you had Burns running both for the Republican nomination AND the special election and I honestly think there was some confusion for the voters because of this. I live in the district right next door and when I went to vote I was told that the Dem turnout was almost non-existent and it was the Repubs turning out in droves.
Also, SEIU put out some pretty hard-hitting ads against Burns related to his support for the Fair Tax which Burns never answered. I was afraid when I heard the ads, as misleading as I knew they were, that most voters in the area weren't savvy enough to know the facts about the Fair Tax. The campaign was poor on Burns side.
Hopefully, he's learned from his mistakes and if he does I think he has a chance.
I was listening to a PA roundtable of state political types on local TV before the polls closed. One of them said 85% of special election winners in PA have gone on to win the next election.
And like you say, Gleason is dancing a jig knowing Critz will funnel insurance business his way.