Pennsylvania Elections

In a stinging rebuke to President Bush, underdog Democratic Sen. Harris Wofford Tuesday scored a dramatic upset against Republican challenger Dick Thornburgh in Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate special election by exploiting voter discontent with Washington in general and White House domestic policies in particular. With 93% of precincts reporting, Wofford had 1,717,903 or 56%, to Thornburgh's 1,372,187 or 44%.

By taking a new Cabinet post, Gov. Thomas J. Ridge may have changed the dynamics of Pennsylvania's 2002 gubernatorial campaign. Just weeks after he endorsed state Atty. Gen. Mike Fisher for the Republican nomination, Ridge's appointment as head of President Bush's new Office of Homeland Security has placed Lt. Gov. Mark S. Schweiker in line to become governor Oct. 5. He also may have caused Schweiker to reconsider his decision not to enter the race.

AD FLAP: After a series of setbacks in the late summer and early fall, Democratic candidate Lynn Yeakel regained some of the momentum in her closely watched bid to unseat Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. But a recent Yeakel commercial, which called Specter the "most obnoxious man in the Senate," may have set her cause back a bit. . . .

A judge in Springdale, Pa., who was accused of shooting heroin in her chambers and protecting a drug dealer, lost her bid to be returned to office. District Justice Gigi Sullivan was attending a drug rehabilitation program and would not be available for comment, her lawyer Patrick Thomassey said. With seven of 10 precincts reporting, Republican David Sosovicka had 1,553 votes, or 63%, to 894 votes, or 37%, for Sullivan, a Democrat. Sullivan, 38, was running for a second six-year term. Atty. Gen.

A judge in Springdale, Pa., who was accused of shooting heroin in her chambers and protecting a drug dealer, lost her bid to be returned to office. District Justice Gigi Sullivan was attending a drug rehabilitation program and would not be available for comment, her lawyer Patrick Thomassey said. With seven of 10 precincts reporting, Republican David Sosovicka had 1,553 votes, or 63%, to 894 votes, or 37%, for Sullivan, a Democrat. Sullivan, 38, was running for a second six-year term. Atty. Gen.

Reforming the nation's health care system, particularly by reducing costs, was the most decisive issue in Tuesday's Pennsylvania Senate election, according to a poll of 1,000 voters released Thursday. In the survey, 50% of the voters cited national health insurance as one of two issues that "mattered the most" to them in voting for either Democratic incumbent Harris Wofford or his Republican challenger, former Atty. Gen. Dick Thornburgh.

The stunning upset election victory of Sen. Harris Wofford (D-Penn.) last week has created a rare upbeat mood among delegates to the national AFL-CIO convention that opened here Monday. Today, delegates will be wooed by all six announced Democratic presidential candidates, and echoes of Wofford's populist campaign messages are certain to reverberate through the Democrats' speeches.

Final returns from the Pennsylvania primary showed that Democrats chose former Philadelphia controller Joseph Vignola to challenge two-term Republican Sen. John Heinz, and picked a backer of political extremist Lyndon H. LaRouche Jr. in a U.S. House primary. The results of Tuesday's primary in suburban Philadelphia's 5th Congressional District left Democrats embarrassed, and the stunned loser declared Wednesday that "people better wake up."

George Bush pulled out a narrow victory over Michael S. Dukakis to take Pennsylvania's 25 electoral votes and popular Republican Sen. John Heinz won a third term by a landslide. In a race that was too close to call throughout the early evening hours when Bush was piling up decisive margins elsewhere, Bush took 51% of the vote to 49% for Dukakis.

Edward Rendell, a former district attorney who ran for governor last year, announced Thursday he will challenge Mayor W. Wilson Goode for the Democratic mayoral nomination in the May primary. Rendell is the first Democrat to announce his candidacy, although Goode has indicated he will seek a second term.

For two months Republican challenger Rick Santorum has been gaining ground on Democratic incumbent Harris Wofford in Pennsylvania's critical U.S. Senate race by thumbing his nose at the traditional liberalism he claims Wofford represents. But as the campaign moves into its closing days, with control of the Senate potentially at stake, Santorum has found himself on the defensive, forced to deal with backfires from his own irreverent rhetoric.

Voters picked moderates in both parties for the race to succeed Gov. Robert P. Casey, while Republicans broke tradition by choosing a conservative as their standard-bearer against Democratic Sen. Harris Wofford. Rep. Tom Ridge defeated Atty. Gen. Ernie Preate on Tuesday in a hotly contested race for the GOP gubernatorial nomination. The Erie congressman had 35% of the votes to 29% for Preate. Three other candidates trailed. On the Democratic side, Lt. Gov. Mark S.

Edward J. Rollins, who created a furor by claiming he schemed to suppress the turnout of black voters in the New Jersey gubernatorial election, has agreed to run a black businessman's Senate campaign in Pennsylvania. Joseph Watkins said Thursday he wanted to hire Rollins despite the controversy because "Ed has a great political background and knows how to win races, and I wanted him on my team." Watkins, 40, is a Philadelphia business consultant and a Baptist minister.

In one of the most unpredictable years for Senate elections in memory, at least 10 races remain too close to call with any assurance in the last few days of the campaign. In the immediate aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, Republicans had high hopes of picking up several Senate seats by targeting Democrats who voted against war-making authority for President Bush. Some pundits speculated that the GOP might even capture control of the Senate.

AD FLAP: After a series of setbacks in the late summer and early fall, Democratic candidate Lynn Yeakel regained some of the momentum in her closely watched bid to unseat Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. But a recent Yeakel commercial, which called Specter the "most obnoxious man in the Senate," may have set her cause back a bit. . . .

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), who is waging a reelection fight fueled by controversy over his interrogation of Anita Faye Hill at Clarence Thomas' Supreme Court confirmation hearings last year, says he is disappointed with Thomas' court performance. Specter, replying to a question at a campaign rally Tuesday in Pittsburgh, said he was especially disappointed with Thomas' dissent in a recent high court case involving the beating of a manacled prison inmate.

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), who is waging a reelection fight fueled by controversy over his interrogation of Anita Faye Hill at Clarence Thomas' Supreme Court confirmation hearings last year, says he is disappointed with Thomas' court performance. Specter, replying to a question at a campaign rally Tuesday in Pittsburgh, said he was especially disappointed with Thomas' dissent in a recent high court case involving the beating of a manacled prison inmate.

Three Democratic women candidates for the U.S. Senate agreed Sunday that they should be elected to help revive the nation's economy rather than because of their sex. "The big issue is really not gender. The real issue is moving the economy," said California's Dianne Feinstein, appearing with the other women on CBS' "Face the Nation." Feinstein faces Republican Sen. John Seymour. " . . . The real family value is a job," she said. "Women are seen as spear-throwers of change."