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The 2004 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on November 2, 2004. Senator Arlen Specter easily won re-election against Congressman Joe Hoeffel.
[edit] Republican primary
Specter faced a primary challenge from Representative Pat Toomey. Toomey was aided by $2 million of advertising from the Club for Growth, a conservative political action committee that focuses on fiscal issues and targets moderate Republican incumbents. Toomey criticized Specter as a liberal spendthrift. Toomey's campaign theme was that Specter, a moderate, was not fiscally conservative enough.
Ironically, most of the state's Republican establishment closed ranks behind Specter. This included Pennsylvania's other Senator, Rick Santorum, who was noted for his social conservative views. Many Republicans at the state and national level feared that if Toomey beat Specter, he wouldn't be able to defend the seat against his Democratic opponent, fellow Congressman Joe Hoeffel.[1]
- Source: OurCampaigns.com PA US Senate - 2004 R Primary
[edit] Democratic primary
Hoeffel ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination. Software businessman Charlie Crystle was considered a strong possible candidate, but he dropped out before the election.[2]
| Democratic Party primary for Pennsylvania United States Senate election, 2004 |
| Party |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
±% |
|
Democratic |
Joe Hoeffel |
595,816 |
100.00 |
|
- Source: OurCampaigns.com PA US Senate - 2004 D Primary
[edit] General election
Once Specter defeated the challenge from the right, he was able to enjoy great support from independents and some Democrats in his race against Hoeffel.[3] Hoeffel also trailed Specter in name recognition, campaign funds and poll results.[4]
- Source: Election Statistics - Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives
[edit] References
[edit] See also
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