2000 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania

The 2000 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on November 7, 2000, during a year which coincided with a United States presidential election in which Pennsylvania was viewed as a swing state.^[1][2] Pennsylvania was one of four states that elected Republican Senators despite being won by Al Gore in the concurrent presidential election, the others being Maine, Rhode Island and Vermont.

2000 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania

← 1994 November 7, 2000 2006 →

Nominee Rick Santorum Ron Klink Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 2,481,962 2,154,908 Percentage 52.42% 45.51%

County results Precinct results Santorum:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Klink:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%     80–90%      >90% Tie:      50%      No data

U.S. senator before election Rick Santorum Republican Elected U.S. Senator Rick Santorum Republican

Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Rick Santorum won re-election to a second term.^[3] This was the last time until 2024 where Republicans won the Class 1 Senate seat from Pennsylvania.

Republican primary

2000 Republican U.S. Senate primary^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Rick Santorum (inc.)	545,687	100.00%
Total votes			545,687	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Phil Berg
• Tom Foley, former Pennsylvania Secretary of Labor and Industry and nominee for Lt. Governor in 1994
• Ron Klink, U.S. Representative from Murrysville
• Murray Levin
• Robert A. Rovner, former Republican State Senator from Philadelphia
• Allyson Schwartz, State Senator from Northeast Philadelphia

Campaign

The contest began for Democrats with a close primary challenge; U.S. Congressman Klink narrowly defeated State Senator Allyson Schwartz and former lieutenant governor nominee Tom Foley by portraying himself as the only candidate who could defeat Santorum.

Results

2000 Democratic U.S. Senate primary^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ron Klink	299,219	40.73%
	Democratic	Allyson Schwartz	194,763	26.52%
	Democratic	Tom Foley	184,003	25.05%
	Democratic	Bob Rovner	28,031	3.82%
	Democratic	Murray Levin	18,903	2.57%
	Democratic	Phil Berg	9,636	1.31%
Total votes			734,575	100.00

General election

Candidates

• Robert Domske (Reform)
• John Featherman (Libertarian)
• Ron Klink, U.S. Representative from Murrysville (Democratic)
• Rick Santorum, incumbent U.S. Senator since 1995 (Republican)
• Lester Searer (Constitution)

Campaign

Santorum had gained a reputation as a polarizing figure during his first term in the Senate and had lost the support of more moderate members of his own party by 1999,^[5][6] but entered the race with a large fundraising advantage and high levels of support from the political right. Klink was viewed as a viable choice because he was a traditional Democrat on most issues and had strong union ties but also was opposed to abortion rights, which Democrats hoped would return votes to their party in the heavily Catholic but economically liberal coal regions of the state. The campaign turned increasingly negative as both candidates publicly questioned each other's integrity.^[7]

Enthusiasm around Klink's campaign then waned as liberal Democrats balked at donating to a candidate who was almost as socially conservative as Santorum. This was especially true in Philadelphia, where Klink was all but unknown. Klink was also badly outspent, leaving him unable to expand his presence in the state; he didn't run a single advertisement on Philadelphia television stations. Ultimately, Klink only carried eight counties as Santorum, who had achieved nationwide prominence for taking positions against abortion and LGBT rights in the United States, was ultimately able to secure victory.^[8]

Debates

• Complete video of debate, September 30, 2000
• Complete video of debate, October 14, 2000
• Complete video of debate, October 23, 2000

Results

General election results^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Rick Santorum (incumbent)	2,481,962	52.42%	+3.02%
	Democratic	Ron Klink	2,154,908	45.51%	−1.41%
	Libertarian	John Featherman	45,775	0.97%	−0.71%
	Constitution	Lester Searer	28,382	0.60%	+0.6%
	Reform	Robert Domske	24,089	0.51%	+0.5%
Majority			327,054	6.91%	+4.43%
Total votes			4,735,116	100
	Republican hold

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Cambria (largest municipality: Johnstown)
• Clinton (Largest city: Lock Haven)
• Luzerne (largest municipality: Wilkes-Barre)

See also

• 2000 United States Senate elections