1998 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania

none March 2026 September 2023 1998 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania presidential no 1992 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania 1992 2004 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania 2004 November 3, 1998 File:Arlen Specter official portrait.jpg 150x150px Arlen Specter Republican Party (United States) 1,814,180 61.34% 3x4.svg William R. Lloyd Jr. Democratic Party (United States) 1,028,839 34.79% 260px County results 260px Congressional district results 260px Precinct results Specter: #ffb2b2 40–50% #e27f7f 50–60% #D75D5D 60–70% #D72F30 70–80% #C21B18 80–90% #A80000 >90% Lloyd: #a5b0ff 40–50% #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584CDE 70–80% #3933E5 80–90% #0D0596 >90%Tie: #DECDE6 30–40% #D2B1D9 40–50% #808080 No data U.S. Senator Arlen Specter Republican Party (United States) Arlen Specter Republican Party (United States) 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. Primary elections were held on May 19, 1998. In the Republican primary, Specter defeated minor challengers from his right. Lloyd won the Democratic primary with a plurality of the vote over Richard J. Cusick and Richard J. Orloski. Republican primary Candidates Nominee Arlen Specter, incumbent U.S. Senator (1981–present) Defeated in primary Tom Lingenfelter Larry Murphy Results thumb|center|250px|Results by county #E27F7F Specter #E27F7F 50%–60% #D75D5D 60%–70% #D72F30 70%–80% Republican primary resultshttps://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/federalelections98.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20260710224412/https://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/federalelections98.pdf July 10, 2026 live Federal Elections 98: Election Results for the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives Federal Election Commission Washington, D.C. April 1999 23 August 23, 2026 Republican Party (United States) Arlen Specter (incumbent) 376322 67.21 Republican Party (United States) Larry Murphy 101120 18.06 Republican Party (United States) Tom Lingenfelter 82168 14.67 Republican Party (United States) 328 0.06 559938 100.00 Democratic primary Candidates Richard J. Cusick, Salisbury Township physicianCall Morning 1998-04-16 U.S. SENATE RACE IS OFF TO A SLOW START IN PA. * NONE OF THE CANDIDATES SEEKING TO UNSEAT SPECTER HAS AS MUCH MONEY AS HE HAS. https://www.mcall.com/1998/04/16/us-senate-race-is-off-to-a-slow-start-in-pa-none-of-the-candidates-seeking-to-unseat-specter-has-as-much-money-as-he-has/ 2026-10-19 The Morning Call en-USCall Morning 1997-12-06 VALLEY DEMOCRATS CHALLENGING SPECTER ARE NOT BIG DRAWS * RICHARD ORLOSKI HAS LOST 5 CAMPAIGNS, AND DR. RICHARD CUSICK IS FORMER REPUBLICAN. https://www.mcall.com/1997/12/06/valley-democrats-challenging-specter-are-not-big-draws-richard-orloski-has-lost-5-campaigns-and-dr-richard-cusick-is-former-republican/ 2026-10-19 The Morning Call en-US William R. Lloyd Jr., state representative from Somerset since 1981 Richard J. Orloski, Allentown attorney and perennial candidateCall Morning 1998-03-07 DEMOCRAT HOPEFULS FOR GOVERNOR, SENATE DEBATE-AND AGREE * ALLENTOWN’S RICK ORLOSKI TAKES A FEW SWIPES AT PARTY FRONTRUNNER FOR SENATE SEAT. https://www.mcall.com/1998/03/07/democrat-hopefuls-for-governor-senate-debate-and-agree-allentowns-rick-orloski-takes-a-few-swipes-at-party-frontrunner-for-senate-seat/ 2026-10-19 The Morning Call en-US Withdrew Harry Liller, Pittsburgh activist Results thumb|center|250px|Results by county #7996E2 Lloyd #BDD3FF 30%–40% #A5B0FF 40%–50% #7996E2 50%–60% #6674DE 60%–70% #584CDE 70%–80% #3933E5 80%–90% #0D0596 90%–100% #51C2C2 Orloski #ACF2F2 30%–40% #7DDDDD 40%–50% #51C2C2 50%–60% #009696 70%–80% Democratic primary results Democratic Party (United States) William R. Lloyd Jr. 236435 49.53 Democratic Party (United States) Richard J. Orloski 121669 25.49 Democratic Party (United States) Richard J. Cusick 118684 24.86 Democratic Party (United States) 571 0.12 477359 100.00 General election Candidates Jack Iannantuono (Libertarian) William R. Lloyd Jr., state representative from SomersetDemo Lawmaker Wants Specter's Job https://www.proquest.com/docview/392840766 August 20, 2010 Allentown Morning Call January 6, 1998 (Democratic) Dean Snyder (Constitution) Arlen Specter, incumbent U.S. senator since 1981 (Republican) Campaign Leading up to this campaign, the state Democratic Party faced difficulty, 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 leadersLeffler Pete 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. https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1998-09-29-3206214-story.html 18 March 2021 The Morning Call 29 September 1998 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.Kennedy John J. Pennsylvania Elections: Statewide Contests from 1950-2004 2006 United Press of America 9780761832799 https://books.google.com/books?id=1J_9q-lIWRkC&q=1998+specter+lloyd&pg=PA75 As of 2022, this is the last time Allegheny County voted for a Republican Senate candidate. Polling Poll source Date(s) SamplesizeKey:A – all adultsRV – registered votersLV – likely votersV – unclear Marginof error ArlenSpecter (R) WilliamLloyd Jr. (D)Other / undecidedCalculated by taking the difference of 100% and all other candidates combined. pollingHarris Insights & AnalyticsFiveThirtyEight's Pollster Ratings Raw Polls File https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fivethirtyeight/data/refs/heads/master/pollster-ratings/2023/raw-polls.csv October 15, 2026 GitHub FiveThirtyEightOctober 30, 19981,812—63%32%5%Mason-Dixon Polling & StrategyCNN AllPolitics Election '98 - Pennsylvania 1998 Polls https://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/1998/states/PA/polls/PA98S.html CNN 29 June 2025 https://archive.today/20250629192209/https://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/1998/states/PA/polls/PA98S.html 29 June 2025 liveOctober 25–27, 1998807 (LV)± 3.5%57%34%9%Millersville UniversityOctober 25, 1998481—61%17%22%Harris Insights & AnalyticsOctober 20, 19981,611—57%25%18%Mason-Dixon Polling & StrategyOctober 3–6, 1998801 (LV)± 3.5%55%31%14%Millersville UniversityPoll sponsored by KYW-TV3, the Philadelphia Daily News, & the Harrisburg PatriotSeptember 25–29, 1998629 (A)± 4.6%52%27%11%Mason-Dixon Polling & StrategySeptember 14–16, 1998806 (LV)± 3.5%58%27%15%Mason-Dixon Polling & StrategyAugust 2–4, 1998806 (LV)± 3.5%57%25%18%Millersville UniversityJuly 8–28, 1998451 (RV)± 4.6%56%26%18% Results 1998 U.S. Senate election in PennsylvaniaStatistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1998 http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1998election.pdf Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House July 8, 2014 Republican Party (United States) Arlen Specter (incumbent) 1,814,180 61.34% 12.24 Democratic Party (United States) William R. Lloyd Jr. 1,028,839 34.79% 11.54 Constitution Party (United States) Dean Snyder 68,377 2.31% N/A Libertarian Party (United States) Jack Iannantuono 46,103 1.56% 3.01 2957499 100.00% Republican Party (United States) See also 1998 United States Senate elections Notes Partisan clients References United States Senate Pennsylvania 1998