Republicans dominate elections

Santorum gains seat in Senate Pittsburgh -- Riding a wave of rural support, Republican Rick Santorum cruised past incumbent Harris Wofford early this morning to become Pennsylvania's junior U.S. senator. The race, which featured a contest between ideological opposites, was extremely close right up to the finish. Santorum and Wofford traded places throughout the evening and were never more than four percentage points apart. A beaming Santorum told the close to 1,000 supporters gathered in the ballroom of the Pittsburgh Vista Hotel that his victory was "a tribute to the people of Pennsylvania." "I will try to build consensus from the right of center, not the left," he said. "That's what people see in Rick Santorum." Santorum, a two-term congressman from Pennsylvania's 18th District composed of the Pittsburgh suburbs, ascended to the ballroom stage to chants of "We want Rick" from the crowd below. Grinning from ear to ear and surrounded by his family, Santorum thanked his supporters, his family and the efforts of Pennsylvania's senior senator, Arlen Specter. And, although some in the audience booed, Santorum thanked Wofford for a good fight. "I had a very gracious phone call from [Wofford]," he said. "He is one tough opponent and he ran one tough campaign. I can tell you that Senator Wofford has served his people well through a long and distinguished career. I think the people of Pennsylvania owe him thanks for that." Throughout a very negative campaign, Santorum had attempted to label Wofford as a big spender in the pocket of the Clinton administration and special interest groups. Wofford attacked Santorum for advocating changes in the social security system. Behind the rhetoric, the race featured a clear choice between Wofford, an old-style New Deal Democrat, and Santorum, a Reaganesque Republican who favors decreased spending and smaller government. In a year of voter discontent, Santorum's ideology appealed to the electorate, Santorum press secretary Michael Milhalke said. John Brabender, Santorum's chief media consultant, said Wofford's connection to President Bill Clinton and Santorum's reputation as a reformer in Congress were key issues. "Voters wanted someone who is going to go down and fight for Pennsylvania," Brabender said. "Not Republicans, not Democrats, but fight for Pennsylvanians." Campaign officials claimed throughout the night that as soon as the state's central regions -- which are predominantly rural and conservative -- reported, Santorum would surge ahead. Keith Schmidt, Santorum's deputy campaign manager, said the Congressman's strong grassroots campaigning would insure his victory. The Santorum campaign official' predictions proved correct. Although it was down to the wire, as rural districts began reporting at 10:30 p.m., Santorum leapt from 9,000 votes behind Wofford to 11,000 votes ahead. Santorum may have been helped by a strong anti-incumbency and anti-Clinton mood that helped propel Republicans into office all over the country in record numbers. As the night wore on, the hundreds of Santorum supporters congregated in the ballroom of the Pittsburgh Vista Hotel continued to cheer the Republican victories around the nation, but they were increasingly anxious: the one race that mattered most was still too close to call. "It's hard to be excited about the others when we still don't know about [Santorum]," said Pennsylvania State University freshman Alicia Uram, a Santorum volunteer. "After we hear about [Santorum], then we will have a real victory party." The predominantly white, middle-class crowd erupted at midnight, as more stations began carrying news of Santorum's imminent victory. Santorum said his first task will be to try to lower the airline gasoline tax, a favor to USAir, which employs thousands of people in Pennsylvania.

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