Conservative candidate Clymer wins Senate ballot berth

[Freddie Stubbs]

8/9/2004, 5:27 p.m. ET
By LARA JAKES JORDAN
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Constitution Party national chairman Jim Clymer qualified for the U.S. Senate ballot on Monday, putting Pennsylvania's senior senator in a squeeze play between opponents on both sides of the political spectrum.

Opponents of Clymer, a conservative attorney from Lancaster, did not challenge his petitions for a ballot spot before the Commonwealth Court's 4 p.m. deadline Monday. He will face Republican incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter and Democratic challenger Rep. Joe Hoeffel in the Nov. 2 election.

"The bottom line is, simply, that the views of the majority of Pennsylvanians are not represented by either of the major-party candidates," Clymer said late Monday afternoon. "I feel the need to fill that void. So I'm here to give the people of Pennsylvania a choice other than the two liberal candidates that are running."

Specter, a moderate Republican, barely survived a primary challenge this spring by conservative Rep. Pat Toomey. He won by 12,603 votes — the closest challenge of his four-term Senate career. Democratic voters, meanwhile, outnumber Republicans in Pennsylvania by more than 443,000 ballots.

more: http://www.pennlive.com/newsflash/pa/index.ssf?/base/politics-0/1092077651224130.xml&storylist=penn

[Ediacara]

1. If Dems outnumber Reps by 1/2 million...

Why is Hoeffel polling so poorly?

[Freddie Stubbs]

3. Specter is fairly popular with Democrats

He tends to buck his party's stances (hence the primary challenge). Specter works hard (travels to all 67 counties every year). He has been in office for 24 years. And he does pretty well for a Republican in Philadelphia, as he is from there and served as District Attorney.

[ClintonTyree]

2. Thank you..............

Jim Clymer. Hopefully you'll pull enough votes away from Specter so Hoeffel can win this very important race.

[comradebillyboy]

4. ah, the quest for conservative purity

specter is waaaaay to moderate for the rwns in penn. clymer may help tip the balance in favor of hoeffel. otherwise specter would win in a walk