Sestak's Broad Coalition Led To Win
Sen. Arlen Specter got a tough lesson on the limits of political expediency last night when the GOPer-turned-Dem incumbent got run over in the primary by Rep. Joe Sestak (D). Sestak captured 54% of the vote to Specter's 46%.
Going down in defeat, Specter, who had won 10 previous statewide campaigns (5 GOP primaries and 5 general elections) captured only 3 of the states 67 counties -- Dauphin (Harrisburg), Lackawanna (Scranton) and Philadelphia, home to the state's major city.
But Specter's strength in Philadelphia did not extend into 4 key suburban counties that ring the city; Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery. In the past those 4 have been part of Specter's base, but they weren't on Tuesday.
It wasn't surprising to see Sestak romp in Delaware with more than 68% of the vote, because that's where most his congressional district lays. But he also took 60.5% in next door Chester, as well as 50.8% in Montgomery, the largest of the ring suburban counties, and 55.1% in Bucks, which doesn't contain any of Sestak's district.
In western PA, Sestak only edged Specter in Allegheny County (Pittsburgh), 53%-47%, but he handily defeated his rival in the suburban Pittsburgh counties like Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Washington and Westmoreland.
Specter also faltered in northern tier rural counties like Bradford McKean, Potter, Tiago and Warren, places that he performed well and carried in the past.
Pres. Obama endorsed Specter, but that boost was not able to get him over the finish line. It probably helped in places like Philadelphia (45% black population) and Dauphin (18% black). Overall the state's population is 10.8% black.
But Obama's nod didn't seem to carry as much sway with younger voters. The PA Sec/State's office provides statistics on the age of registered voters by party and county, and merging that data with the county returns on Tuesday night shows that in the 10 counties with highest percent of registered Dems between the ages of 18 to 34, Specter won 2 --Philadelphia and Dauphin.
But those 2 victories were probably more influenced by race than age. In the 8 other counties in this group, Sestak not only won, he outperformed his statewide average.
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