1998 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania
November 3, 1998
 
Nominee Arlen Specter William R. Lloyd Jr.
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 1,814,180 1,028,839
Percentage 61.34% 34.79%
County results

Specter:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%

Lloyd:      50–60%      60–70%
U.S. senator before election

Arlen Specter
Republican

 Elected U.S. Senator

Arlen Specter
Republican

The 1998 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held November 3, 1998. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Arlen Specter won re-election to a fourth term.

General election

Candidates

Campaign

Leading up to this campaign, the state Democratic Party was in dire straits, as it was plagued by prior corruption allegations of several key legislators and by a lack of fund-raising. Just as in the accompanying gubernatorial race, the party had difficulty in finding a credible candidate. State Representative Bill Lloyd, who was a well-respected party leader but who had little statewide name recognition, was considered by Democratic party leaders[2] to be a sacrificial lamb candidate. Specter ran a straightforward campaign and attempted to avoid mistakes, while Lloyd's bid was so underfunded that he was unable to air a single commercial until two weeks before the election. Lloyd's strategy was to portray Republicans as hyper-partisan in wake of their attempt to impeach President Bill Clinton, but he was unable to gain any traction with his message. On Election Day, Specter's win was by the second-largest margin in the history of Senate elections in Pennsylvania. Lloyd won only two counties: almost uniformly Democratic Philadelphia and his home county, rural and typically Republican Somerset County.[3] As of 2022, this is the last time Allegheny County voted for a Republican Senate candidate.

Results

General election results[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Arlen Specter (incumbent) 1,814,180 61.34%
Democratic William R. Lloyd Jr. 1,028,839 34.79%
Constitution Dean Snyder 68,377 2.31%
Libertarian Jack Iannantuono 46,103 1.56%
Republican hold

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Demo Lawmaker Wants Specter's Job". Allentown Morning Call. January 6, 1998. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  2. ↑ Leffler, Pete (September 29, 1998). "DEMOCRAT BILL LLOYD'S DRIVING FOR SPECTER'S SENATE SEAT LITERALLY. THE STATE REPRESENTATIVE IS MOTORING AROUND PA., AND BLAMES LACK OF MONEY FOR HIS LOW CAMPAIGN PROFILE". The Morning Call. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  3. ↑ Kennedy, John J. (2006). Pennsylvania Elections: Statewide Contests from 1950-2004. United Press of America. ISBN 9780761832799.
  4. ↑ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1998" (PDF). Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
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