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I caught a little of U.S. Senate candidate Bob Casey's reasoning on the Iraq war during the Sept. 3 edition of NBC's ''Meet the Press.'' During the insightful debate, incumbent Sen. Rick Santorum framed Iraq as one front in the war against Islamic Fascism, something Bush-bashing editorial writers pooh-pooh as Republican election cycle gimmickry. In Casey's mind, arguing Terrorism vs. the rise of Islamic Fascism is a mere quibble over semantics. Casey says that we should be ''finding and killing Osama bin Laden'' now and debating later ''whether he's a dead terrorist or a dead fascist.'' Throughout the debate, Casey...

Closing in on his front-runner opponent in the polls, Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., came out swinging in the first and probably the only public debate with Pennsylvania State Treasurer Bob Casey. He may have delivered a knockout blow to Casey, who appeared confused and inarticulate during his encounter with the fast-talking Santorum during their weekend debate on NBC's "Meet the Press" with host Tim Russert. Writing at SantorumBlog, contributor Rich Talbert observed: "Casey was a dead stick when discussing Iraq ... was absolutely clueless about Social Security ... bombed with Catholics with the abortion pill ... dropped the ball on...

Just two years ago, almost 62% of Ohio voters approved a state amendment prohibiting legal recognition of same-sex marriages and civil unions. This is important for understanding the current Senate race in next-door Pennsylvania, where Republican Sen. Rick Santorum faces a formidable challenge from Democratic State Treasurer Bob Casey, Jr. The Ohio vote reflected national political trends in favor of defending traditional values generally and marriage specifically. The same trends could ultimately tip the balance in Pennsylvania’s Santorum-Casey contest. Twenty states in recent years have voted on amendments to ban same-sex marriage. All 20 amendments won. After the 2004 presidential...

The latest independent statewide poll shows Democratic challenger Bob Casey with a slight lead over Republican incumbent Rick Santorum in their hotly contested Senate race. The poll found 45 percent of the voters questioned supported Casey, the state treasurer, while 39 percent supported Santorum, the No. 3 Senate Republican. The poll of 550 registered voters was conducted from July 31 to Aug. 3 by The Morning Call of Allentown and the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion. The poll results carry a sampling error margin of plus or minus 4 percentage points. The poll, which appeared in Sunday editions of...

Sex columnist Dan Savage’s crude definition of U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum’s last name ranks on top in a Google search of the senator’s last name, but it’s just rank to Bob Casey Jr. The Democratic state treasurer said Monday he’s returning Mr. Savage’s $2,100 contribution because the sex columnist’s definition detracts from the way campaigns should be conducted. “It was the right thing to do,” Mr. Casey said after an appearance in Scranton. “Look, a contribution of that size in the context of millions of dollars that both campaigns will raise is obviously not a big percentage of what you’ll...

GREEN TREE, Pa. (AP) — With less than 100 days remaining in his re-election campaign and trailing in the polls, U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum painted his Democratic opponent as running solely on name recognition. "When you elected Rick Santorum, you didn't elect someone who came from a proud political legacy. You didn't elect someone who had a great name in Pennsylvania politics," he said, referring to his opponent, state Treasurer Bob Casey, whose late father was Pennsylvania's governor from 1987 to 1995. "You elected someone with great heart and great passion to fight for things you care (about)," Santorum told...

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Thanks to the generosity of GOP donors, a Green Party candidate is expected to make it onto the ballot in Pennsylvania's Senate race and siphon votes from Democratic front-runner Bob Casey in his bid to unseat Republican Sen. Rick Santorum. While Santorum said Monday that he would welcome another candidate on the ballot, Casey's campaign accused Republicans of "trying to steal the election." Green Party candidate Carl Romanelli, making his first bid for statewide elective office, acknowledged Monday that Republican contributors probably supplied most of the $100,000 that he said he spent gathering signatures to qualify for...

This is the second in an occasional series of stories from The Associated Press on the U.S. Senate race from the campaign trail. Amish farm country isn't always friendly turf for Democrats. That didn't stop Bob Casey Jr. from paying a visit Friday in his campaign to unseat U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum. Casey, wearing jeans and a white polo shirt, started his day at a Lancaster County dairy farm where about 30 residents sitting on hay bales politely asked tough questions about farmland preservation, the war and immigration.

Pennsylvania Senate: Casey (D) 52% Santorum (R) 37% June 26, 2006 The reelection campaign of Republican Senator Rick Santorum has been a rocky road so far, and the latest Rasmussen Reports election poll of the Pennsylvania race for U.S. Senate offers only minor comfort at best. Now trailing Democrat Bob Casey by fifteen percentage points (52% to 37%), Santorum has gained a few points since last month. Of course, gaining a few points after lagging by twenty-three points is hardly an accomplishment for an incumbent to brag about. The overall trend remains very unhappy for Santorum: he has reached a...

Pennsylvania voters give Democratic State Treasurer Robert Casey Jr. a 52 - 34 percent lead over incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, with 12 percent undecided, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. This compares to a 49 - 36 percent Casey lead in a May 11 poll by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN uh-pe-ack) University. In this latest survey, Republicans back Sen. Santorum 68 - 20 percent, while Democrats back Casey 80 - 9 percent and independent voters back the Democrat 54 - 30 percent. Men back Casey 51 - 40 percent and women back him 54 - 28...

Sen. Rick Santorum's approval rating has skidded to a four-year low, the latest sign of distress for the outspoken conservative and ally of President Bush, according to a poll released Wednesday. The lead for Santorum's Democratic opponent, state Treasurer Bob Casey, has stretched to 18 percentage points since early May. Casey leads Santorum by 52 percent to 34 percent - the biggest margin since October, when the numbers were the same, according to the Quinnipiac University poll. Only 38 percent of respondents said they approved of the way Santorum, the third-ranking Republican in the Senate, is handling his job. Forty-five...

Geographically, Pennsylvania is a long way from Laredo. But politically, every state may be a border state this year. As evidence, consider a radio ad being run by Rick Santorum, a Republican seeking a third U.S. Senate term in a state that has voted Democratic in the last four presidential elections. Titled "He Needs Glasses,'' the target is Santorum's opponent, Bob Casey: "Bobby Casey announced his support of a Senate bill that grants amnesty to illegal immigrants, shocking hardworking taxpayers all across Pennsylvania. Now Casey's trying to wiggle out of it by saying the bill doesn't offer amnesty and requires...

U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) called yesterday Democratic candidate Bob Casey Jr. a "thug." Santorum accused Ed Vecchio, the husband of the Penn Hills Democratic Party chairwoman Erin Vecchio, a Casey operative, noting that he trespassed on his property and looked into his windows. The incumbent also blasted the Casey campaign of "writing press releases in support of that kind of activity." Santorum said on WILK-AM's Sue Henry Show said that Casey should start acting like a candidate instead of a thug. Casey fired back, calling Santorum's charges "false and malicious," describing Santorum's actions as "weirdness."

To: National Desk Contact: Damien LaVera of the Democratic National Committee, 202-863-8148 WASHINGTON, June 3 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean today gave the keynote address to the National Stonewall Democrats conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The following are excerpts of Dean's remarks as prepared for delivery. "I want to start today by thanking you for standing with me. Not just through the recent controversy over my CBN interview, but for standing with me as we have fought side by side for equal rights under the law for all Americans. That fight continues, and the Democrat Party is...

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Nearly 22,000 Pennsylvania Republicans who voted for Lynn Swann as the GOP nominee for governor withheld their support from U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum in Tuesday's primary. Both candidates were unopposed. Mr. Swann, the former Steelers star, received 574,276 votes, while Mr. Santorum, who is seeking a third term in the Senate, drew 552,559, according to unofficial totals compiled by the Pennsylvania Department of State that were 99 percent complete today. In the Nov. 7 general election, Mr. Swann will face Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell while Santorum is running against state Treasurer Bob Casey. Less than six months...

PHILADELPIA -- Political veteran Bob Casey, the heavy favorite, easily won the Democratic nomination in Pennsylvania on Tuesday to challenge conservative Republican Sen. Rick Santorum in the fall. Pennsylvania voters also decided whether to punish state lawmakers for giving themselves a big pay raise in the middle of the night last year. Under public pressure, the legislators repealed the increases. In Oregon, Democratic Gov. Ted Kulongoski faced two rivals for the nomination for another term. An Iraq war veteran sought the Democratic nomination for Congress in Pennsylvania, while another Iraq veteran was defeated in a congressional primary in Kentucky. The...

14. If the election for United States Senate were held today, and the choice was between Robert Casey, Jr., the Democrat and Rick Santorum, the Republican, whom would you vote for? Robert Casey 49% Rick Santorum 41% Other 1% Undecided 9%

New Keystone Poll on Senate Race shows Santorum Trailing by 6 A new Keystone Poll to be released shortly shows Senator Rick Santorum trailing Bob Casey Jr., 41 to 47 percent with 12 percent undecided. Read the poll results here.

In Rhode Island, Chafee Leads by Double Digits A new Rhode Island College poll shows Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) with a double-digit lead over Sheldon Whitehouse (D), 51% to 32%. When Steve Laffey (R) is the GOP nominee, Whitehouse wins, 50% to 27%. However, in the GOP primary Chafee is ahead of Laffey by a wide margin, 56% to 28%. In Pennsylvania, Santorum Continues to Trail The latest Rasmussen Reports poll shows Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) trailing rival Bob Casey (D) by 13 percentage points, 51% to 38%. "Santorum is struggling with his base, consistently earning less than 70% of...

HARRISBURG -- U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., has pulled to within single digits of Democratic state Treasurer Bob Casey Jr., while Gov. Ed Rendell continues to hold a narrow lead over rival Lynn Swann, a new Morning Call/Muhlenberg College poll has found. Casey, the son of the former governor and the man that nationwide Democrats hope will finally be able to dislodge Santorum from the U.S. Senate seat he's held since 1994, saw his double-digit lead diminished to just eight percentage points in the survey of 518 registered voters. In a hypothetical match-up held today, Casey leads Santorum 46 to...