State GOP has bragging rights in Northeast
HARRISBURG — Republicans have controlled the Pennsylvania Senate for most of the last three decades, and now they have new bragging rights: The Senate is the last state legislative chamber in the Northeast in GOP hands.
The GOP's success could provide a template for fellow Republicans looking to win back majorities not just in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic region, where they lost the New York Senate and Delaware House on Nov. 4, but across the country.
"The Republicans in the state Senate are smart cookies and know how to win," said Bob Asher, a major GOP fundraiser and the party's national committeeman in Pennsylvania. "Maybe there ought to be a campaign school in Harrisburg and you could send people to it."
The GOP was able to withstand a Barack Obama-inspired surge in Democratic voter registration and maintain power in the state Senate thanks in part to Pennsylvania voters' history of ticket-splitting.
Party leaders say a key strategy has been to pick candidates who reflect the values of their districts and to avoid dwelling on divisive social issues such as abortion or gay rights.
In the same vein, they have benefited from a pragmatic streak in the Legislature. They demonstrated that by cooperating with Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell on the legalization of slot machines, school funding and alternative energy, though sometimes compromise came only after long battles that split the caucus.
"That helps them ... maintain that legitimacy in a sea of blue," said Michael L. Young, who runs a Harrisburg-based opinion research polling firm.
Such flexibility has been necessary for survival: Seven GOP senators hail from suburban Philadelphia, where Rendell is popular and Obama won big, while others represent staunchly conservative areas.
Victories on Nov. 4 left the Pennsylvania Senate as the only state legislative chamber in Republican control in the 12 states north of Virginia and east of Ohio.
Nationally, Republicans retained control in 14 legislatures — down from 21 as recently as 2002 — but lost about 100 legislative seats across the country. Democrats boosted their majorities from 23 to 27, according to the Denver-based National Conference of State Legislatures.
With Democrats outnumbering Republicans in Pennsylvania by more than 1 million voters, Obama carried the state handily and Democrats expanded their majority in the state House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, the GOP, which held a 29-21 edge in the Senate before the death of a Republican lawmaker, emerged with at least the same advantage and could secure a 30th seat after a special election to replace the late senator.
The Republicans picked up a seat in a suburban Pittsburgh district that last elected a GOP senator to a full four-year term in the 1930s.
The GOP received some unforeseen help in that race: Dairy farmer Elder Vogel Jr., initially considered a long shot, won after the original Democratic nominee was charged in a state investigation of alleged legislative corruption and dropped out of the race.
Leading the GOP effort to keep Senate control was second-term Sen. Joe Scarnati, a former restaurateur from rural northern Pennsylvania elevated to Senate president pro tempore two years ago.
To strengthen the party's hand, Scarnati has sought to focus on bread-and-butter issues such as delivering lower taxes and more health care benefits.
"If we can't provide that, there's no reason to vote Republican," Scarnati said. "You might as well vote for the other party."
However, he also acknowledged that Republicans are helped Pennsylvania voters' willingness to split their ballots. The practice is often viewed as a sign of a well-informed electorate: The more voters know about candidates, the less likely they are to vote a straight party ticket.
In Pennsylvania, voters may know more about bottom-of-the-ticket candidates like those running for the Legislature because of the state's campaign finance laws; Pennsylvania is the only northeastern state that does not limit the amount of money that can be given to a candidate for state office.
This year, the GOP spent more than $2.5 million to win three open Senate seats — many times the amount they spend on races for less competitive seats, a Scarnati aide said.
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