2000 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania

none March 2026 September 2023 2000 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania presidential no 1994 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania 1994 2006 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania 2006 November 7, 2000 150x150px Rick Santorum official photo.jpg Rick Santorum Republican Party (United States) 2,481,962 52.42% Ron Klink.jpg Ron Klink Democratic Party (United States) 2,154,908 45.51% 260px County results 260px Precinct results 1 240px Santorum: #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% #d72f30 70–80% #C21B18 80–90% #A80000 >90%Klink: #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584CDE 70–80%#3933e5 80–90% #0D0596 >90%Tie: #ae8bb1 50% #808080 No data U.S. Senator Rick Santorum Republican Party (United States) Rick Santorum Republican Party (United States) 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.Resnick, Jolyn and Kalen Churcher. "Supporters rally in area for candidates." Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania: The Times Leader, November 7, 2000, p. 4 (subscription required).Miller, Rhonda. "State GOP leaders rally the faithful: Six-city campaign tour ends at county airport." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 7, 2000, p. 8 (subscription required). 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. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Rick Santorum won re-election to a second term.http://www.electionreturns.state.pa.us/ElectionsInformation.aspx?FunctionID=13&ElectionID=2&OfficeID=2 Commonwealth of PA - Elections Information 2008-05-16 https://web.archive.org/web/20080515031139/http://www.electionreturns.state.pa.us/ElectionsInformation.aspx?FunctionID=13&ElectionID=2&OfficeID=2 2008-05-15 dead This was the last time until 2024 when Republicans won the Class 1 Senate seat from Pennsylvania. Republican primary 2000 Republican U.S. Senate primaryhttps://www.electionreturns.pa.gov/Home/SummaryResults?ElectionID=9&ElectionType=P&IsActive=0 Pennsylvania Elections Summary Results 27 Sep 2023 Rick Santorum (inc.) Republican Party (US) 545,687 100.00 545,687 100.00 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 thumb|center|250px|Results by county #7996E2 Klink #BDD3FF 30%–40% #A5B0FF 40%–50% #7996E2 50%–60% #6674DE 60%–70% #584CDE 70%–80% #3933E5 80%–90% #51C2C2 Schwartz #ACF2F2 30%–40% #7DDDDD 40%–50% #51C2C2 50%–60% #FFB380 Foley #FEE5D5 30%–40% #FFCCAA 40%–50% #FFB380 50%–60% #FF9955 60%–70% 2000 Democratic U.S. Senate primary Ron Klink Democratic Party (US) 299,219 40.73 Allyson Schwartz Democratic Party (US) 194,763 26.52 Tom Foley Democratic Party (US) 184,003 25.05 Bob Rovner Democratic Party (US) 28,031 3.82 Murray Levin Democratic Party (US) 18,903 2.57 Phil Berg Democratic Party (US) 9,636 1.31 734,575 100.00 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,Jesdanun, Anick. "Santorum's views not right on." Danville, Pennsylvania: The Danville News, January 26, 1999, p. 5 (subscription required).Brown, Jack. "Former congressman mulls run for Senate." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 7, 1999, p. 11 (subscription required). 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.Marx, Claude R. "Santorum, Klink spend final day making pleas for votes: The two candidates for Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate seat both predict victory in hotly contested race." Hazleton, Pennsylvania: Standard-Speaker, November 7, 2000, p. 1 (subscription required). 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 did not 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.Pennsylvania Elections: Statewide Contests from 1950-2004 Debates + 2000 Pennsylvania U.S. Senate election debate No. Number Date Host Moderators Link Republican Democratic Libertarian Constitution ReformKey:black #90ff90  P  Participant  black #FFFFDD  A  Absent  black #ff9090  N  Not invited  black #CCFFCC  I  Invited #f0e68c W Withdrawn Santorum Klink Featherman Searer Domske1 September 30, 2000 WPVI-TV Marc Howard C-SPAN P P N N N2 October 14, 2000 WJET-TV Kelly GaughanSean LaffertyBob LloydMatthew Locke C-SPAN P P N N N3 October 23, 2000 WPXI David Johnson C-SPAN P P N N N Results General election resultshttp://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/2000/2000Stat.htm Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives Republican Party (United States) Rick Santorum (incumbent) 2,481,962 52.42 +3.02 Democratic Party (United States) Ron Klink 2,154,908 45.51 -1.41 Libertarian Party (United States) John Featherman 45,775 0.97 -0.71 Constitution Party (United States) Lester Searer 28,382 0.60 +0.60 Reform Party (United States) Robert Domske 24,089 0.51 +0.50 327,054 6.91 +4.43 4,735,116 100.00 Republican Party (United States) 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 References External links Candidates at Vote Smart Campaign finance at FEC Campaign finance at OpenSecrets Official campaign websites (archived) Rick Santorum Ron Klink 2000 Pennsylvania United States Senate Category:Rick Santorum