Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 1978
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1974 ←
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November 7, 1978 (1978-11-07)
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→ 1982
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| County results |
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The Pennsylvania gubernatorial election of 1978 was held on November 7, 1978 between Republican Dick Thornburgh and Democrat Pete Flaherty.
The race began with a primary that slated an impressive field of candidates. Flaherty, the Mayor of Pittsburgh, bested State Auditor General Bob Casey, who had lost the Democratic nomination for this office twice before. Casey's campaign was greatly hurt by the presence of another Bob Casey who was running on the ballot for Lieutenant Governor; voters apparently believed they were selecting a ticket of Flaherty and the Auditor General when they chose the Pittsburgh teacher as the Democratic running mate. Thornburgh's win came over the Republican leaders of both houses of the state legislature (House Minority Leader Robert Butera and Senate Minority Leader Henry Hager) and former Philadelphia District Attorney and future senator Arlen Specter (who was considered the front-runner in the months preceding the primary).[1]
Flaherty outpolled Thornburgh by double-digit margins for much of the campaign, but the Republican candidate used highly effective strategies to close the gap in the weeks leading up to election night. Thornburgh was successful in recruiting suburban moderates, as fellow liberal Republican Specter encouraged his metro Philadelphia supporters to rally behind Thornburgh. In contrast, the liberal Flaherty had trouble reaching out to conservative Democrats outside of his Western Pennsylvania base, a problem hindered by Casey's tepid support for the candidate over the lieutenant gubernatorial issue. Thornburgh also aggressively courted traditionally Democratic-leaning groups and gained the endorsements of the NAACP and several labor unions. Democratic support slowly waned under this strategy, which allowed Thornburgh to take a close victory. [2]
Major Party Candidates [edit]
Democratic [edit]
Republican [edit]
Results [edit]
- ^ The Pennsylvania Manual, p. 728.
- ^ The Pennsylvania Manual, p. 727.
References [edit]
