Describe a Santorum/Gore 2000 voter

[Blow by blow, the passion dies]

Suburban moderate?

[Schiff for Senate]

Suburban moderate?

Ironic given that suburban Republicans are stereotypically considered to be moderate, especially on social issues, and that Santorum was a staunch conservative, especially on social issues.

[Fuzzy Bear]

A suburban voter put off by Democrat Ron Klink's pro-life stance.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

A suburban voter put off by Democrat Ron Klink's pro-life stance.

There were reportedly a lot of these.

[Schiff for Senate]

A suburban voter put off by Democrat Ron Klink's pro-life stance.

Speaking of oldish Pennsylvania politics and social issues - Bob Casey's reelection bid as governor in 1990 (a decade earlier) was one of the craziest races. At least on social issues, the Republican candidate was much more liberal than the ardently pro-life (of "Planned Parenthood v Casey" fame/infamy) Casey. In the end, there was a lot of ideological crossover as left-of-centre suburbanites voted against Casey and many, many rural conservatives voted for him. This was manifested in the fact that Casey won all of Pennsylvania's counties - and all/most of its rural ones very comfortably - except for suburban Montgomery. Montgomery wasn't even *that* historically Republican (not like, say, Ottawa, MI, the WOW counties in WI, or Hamilton in IN), so it was quite an interesting result.

But while Klink may have been pro-life, wouldn't he still easily be the "lesser of two evils" for social liberals, given that Santorum was notoriously socially conservative? Or did Santorum's social conservatism only become particularly prominent later in the decade?

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

A suburban voter put off by Democrat Ron Klink's pro-life stance.

Speaking of oldish Pennsylvania politics and social issues - Bob Casey's reelection bid as governor in 1990 (a decade earlier) was one of the craziest races. At least on social issues, the Republican candidate was much more liberal than the ardently pro-life (of "Planned Parenthood v Casey" fame/infamy) Casey. In the end, there was a lot of ideological crossover as left-of-centre suburbanites voted against Casey and many, many rural conservatives voted for him. This was manifested in the fact that Casey won all of Pennsylvania's counties - and all/most of its rural ones very comfortably - except for suburban Chester. Chester wasn't even *that* historically Republican (not like, say, Ottawa, MI, the WOW counties in WI, or Hamilton in IN), so it was quite an interesting result.

But while Klink may have been pro-life, wouldn't he still easily be the "lesser of two evils" for social liberals, given that Santorum was notoriously socially conservative? Or did Santorum's social conservatism only become particularly prominent later in the decade?

He actually lost Montgomery, not Chester.

[Schiff for Senate]

A suburban voter put off by Democrat Ron Klink's pro-life stance.

Speaking of oldish Pennsylvania politics and social issues - Bob Casey's reelection bid as governor in 1990 (a decade earlier) was one of the craziest races. At least on social issues, the Republican candidate was much more liberal than the ardently pro-life (of "Planned Parenthood v Casey" fame/infamy) Casey. In the end, there was a lot of ideological crossover as left-of-centre suburbanites voted against Casey and many, many rural conservatives voted for him. This was manifested in the fact that Casey won all of Pennsylvania's counties - and all/most of its rural ones very comfortably - except for suburban Chester. Chester wasn't even *that* historically Republican (not like, say, Ottawa, MI, the WOW counties in WI, or Hamilton in IN), so it was quite an interesting result.

But while Klink may have been pro-life, wouldn't he still easily be the "lesser of two evils" for social liberals, given that Santorum was notoriously socially conservative? Or did Santorum's social conservatism only become particularly prominent later in the decade?

He actually lost Montgomery, not Chester.

My mistake. I was going off memory there (except to just double-check what year his reelection actually was - my guess had originally been 1986).

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

A suburban voter put off by Democrat Ron Klink's pro-life stance.

Speaking of oldish Pennsylvania politics and social issues - Bob Casey's reelection bid as governor in 1990 (a decade earlier) was one of the craziest races. At least on social issues, the Republican candidate was much more liberal than the ardently pro-life (of "Planned Parenthood v Casey" fame/infamy) Casey. In the end, there was a lot of ideological crossover as left-of-centre suburbanites voted against Casey and many, many rural conservatives voted for him. This was manifested in the fact that Casey won all of Pennsylvania's counties - and all/most of its rural ones very comfortably - except for suburban Chester. Chester wasn't even *that* historically Republican (not like, say, Ottawa, MI, the WOW counties in WI, or Hamilton in IN), so it was quite an interesting result.

But while Klink may have been pro-life, wouldn't he still easily be the "lesser of two evils" for social liberals, given that Santorum was notoriously socially conservative? Or did Santorum's social conservatism only become particularly prominent later in the decade?

He actually lost Montgomery, not Chester.

My mistake. I was going off memory there (except to just double-check what year his reelection actually was - my guess had originally been 1986).

We all make mistakes. One reason I remembered this specific fact was my going through wikipedia election articles.

[Sir Mohamed]

Someone who wanted a Dem admin with a "check". Perhaps some fiscal conservative who thought D-prez and R-congress would be the best way to achieve this.

[I Will Not Be Wrong]

A socially conservative African American?

[Vice President Christian Man]

A suburban voter put off by Democrat Ron Klink's pro-life stance.

There were reportedly a lot of these.

Which is ironic because Santorum was among the most socially conservative senators at the time.