# 1992 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania

"none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]]
Elections in Pennsylvania :
Federal government
U.S. President
1789
1792
1796
1800
1804
1808
1812
1816
1820
1824
1828
1832
1836
1840
1844
1848
1852
1856
1860
1864
1868
1872
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Presidential primaries
Democratic
2000
2004
2008
2016
2020
2024
Republican
2008
2016
2020
2024
U.S. Senate
1788
1791
1793 sp
1794 sp
1795
1796
1797
1801
1801 sp
1802
1806
1808
1808 sp
1809 sp
1812
1814
1814 sp
1818
1820
1824
1826
1830
1831 sp
1832
1834 sp
1836
1840 sp
1843
1845
1845 sp
1849
1851
1856
1857
1861
1861 sp
1863
1867
1869
1873
1875
1877 sp
1879
1881
1885
1887
1891
1893
1897
1899
1901 sp
1903
1905
1905 sp
1908
1909
1909 sp
1911
1914
1916
1920
1922
1922 sp
1926
1928
1930 sp
1932
1934
1938
1940
1944
1946
1950
1952
1956
1958
1962
1964
1968
1970
1974
1976
1980
1982
1986
1988
1991 sp
1992
1994
1998
2000
2004
2006
2010
2012
2016
2018
2022
2024
2028
U.S. House of Representatives
1788
1791
1792
1794
1796
5th sp
1797
5th sp
1798
1st sp
4th sp
1800
8th sp
1801
4th sp
8th sp
12th sp
1802
1804
10th sp
1805
4th sp
11th sp
1806
1st sp
1808
1st sp
1809
1st sp
1810
1812
1813
3rd sp
5th sp
7th sp
13th sp
15th sp
1814
2nd sp
3rd sp
1815
1st sp
3rd sp
9th sp
1816
9th sp
1817
10th sp
1818
4th sp
6th sp
1820
5th sp
7th sp
1821
5th sp
10th sp
1822
1st sp
6th sp
7th sp
14th sp
1824
8th sp
13th sp
1825
16th sp
1826
2nd sp
7th sp
13th sp
18th sp
1827
2nd sp
1828
1829
8th sp
16th sp
1830
1831
11th sp
1832
1833
1st sp
1834
1836
13th sp
24th sp
1837
3rd sp
1838
9th sp
1839
14th sp
1840
13th sp
22nd sp
1841
2nd sp
13th sp
20th sp
18th sp
Jun
Dec
1842
17th sp
21st sp
1843
1844
12th sp
13th sp
21st sp
1846
1848
6th sp
1850
11th sp
15th sp
1852
1854
8th sp
1856
1857
12th sp
1858
8th sp
1860
8th sp
1861
2nd sp
12th sp
1862
7th sp
1864
1866
1867
12th sp
1868
9th sp
20th sp
1870
1872
13th sp
1874
23rd sp
1876
12th sp
1878
1880
1882
1884
19th sp
1885
19th sp
1886
1888
1890
3rd sp
4th sp
1892
1893
2nd sp
8th sp
1894
at-large sp
1895
15th sp
1896
1897
25th sp
1898
23rd sp
1899
9th sp
1900
5th sp
1901
10th sp
1902
17th sp
1903
4th sp
1904
3rd sp
1906
2nd sp
3rd sp
12th sp
1907
2nd sp
1908
1910
1911
2nd sp
14th sp
1912
1st sp
1914
1916
1917
28th sp
1918
1919
22nd sp
1920
3rd sp
1921
at-large sp
1922
1924
1926
1927
1st sp
1928
8th sp
1929
12th sp
1930
1931
2nd sp
1932
6th sp
18th sp
20th sp
1933
9th sp
1934
1936
1937
18th sp
1938
1939
4th sp
1940
1941
15th sp
1942
11th sp
12th sp
33rd sp
1943
2nd sp
23rd sp
1944
2nd sp
17th sp
1946
10th sp
23rd sp
33rd sp
1947
8th sp
1948
1949
22nd sp
26th sp
1950
1951
8th sp
14th sp
33rd sp
1952
1954
1956
2nd sp
30th sp
1957
13th sp
1958
4th sp
21st sp
1960
17th sp
18th sp
1961
16th sp
1962
1963
15th sp
23rd sp
1964
5th sp
1966
1968
1970
9th sp
1971
18th sp
1972
27th sp
1974
12th sp
1976
1st sp
1978
1980
11th sp
12th sp
1981
3rd sp
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1991
2nd sp
1992
1994
1996
1998
1st sp
2000
2001
9th sp
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
12th sp
2012
2014
2016
2nd sp
2018
7th sp
15th sp
18th sp
2019
12th sp
2020
2022
2024 :
State government
Governor
1790
1793
1796
1799
1802
1805
1808
1811
1814
1817
1820
1823
1826
1829
1832
1835
1838
1841
1844
1847
1848
1851
1854
1857
1860
1863
1866
1869
1872
1875
1878
1882
1886
1890
1894
1898
1902
1906
1910
1914
1918
1922
1926
1930
1934
1938
1942
1946
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
2026
Lieutenant Governor
1874
1878
1882
1886
1890
1894
1898
1902
1906
1910
1914
1918
1922
1926
1930
1934
1938
1942
1946
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
Attorney General
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Auditor General
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
State Treasurer
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
State Senate
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
State House of Representatives
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
Elections by year
State elections
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024 :
Philadelphia
Mayoral elections
1839
1840
1841
1842
1843
1844
1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
1852
1853
1854
1856
1858
1860
1862
1865
1868
1871
1874
1877
1881
1884
1887
1891
1895
1899
1903
1907
1911
1915
1919
1923
1927
1931
1935
1939
1943
1947
1951
1955
1959
1963
1967
1971
1975
1979
1983
1987
1991
1995
1999
2003
2007
2011
2015
2019
2023
City Council elections
2015
2019
2022–23 sp.
2023
Other municipal elections
1951
1953
1955
1957
1959
1961
2023 :
Pittsburgh
Mayors
1909
1913
1917
1921
1925
1929
1933
1937
1941
1945
1949
1953
1957
1959
1961
1965
1969
1973
1977
1981
1985
1989
1993
1997
2001
2005
2007
2009
2013
2017
2021 :
Allentown
Mayors
1977
1981
1985
1989
1993
1997
2001
2005
2009
2013
2017
2019 sp
2021 :
Lancaster
Mayors
2009
2017
2021 :
Harrisburg
Mayors
1969
1973
1977
1981
1985
1989
1993
1997
2001
2005
2009
2013
2017
2021 :
Government :
vte :
The 1992 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on November 3, 1992. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Arlen Specter narrowly won re-election to a third term, garnering just forty-nine percent of the vote in what was described by The Philadelphia Inquirer as a "massive turnout for Bill Clinton."
Specter's campaign against Democrat Lynn Yeakel, which was widely reported by nationwide newspapers as having been harmed by his treatment of University of Oklahoma law professor Anita Hill as she testified against U.S. circuit court judge Clarence Thomas during his Senate confirmation hearings for the U.S. Supreme Court, was aided by a combination of support for him from Philadelphia-area voters and weak turnout in the Pittsburgh area for Yeakel.

## Republican primary
### Candidates

* Stephen Freind, State Representative (from Delaware County)
* Arlen Specter, incumbent U.S. Senator (from Philadelphia County)

### Campaign

Despite his powerful position in the Senate, Specter had numerous problems entering the election. A moderate who generally received only tepid support from his party's conservative wing, he was criticized by the right for opposing Ronald Reagan's nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court. Specter subsequently faced a primary challenge from ultra-conservative State Representative Stephen Freind; although the incumbent won handily, the battle was expensive and featured many damaging attack ads.

## Democratic primary
### Candidates

* Robert E. Colville, District Attorney of Allegheny County (from Allegheny County)
* Freddy Mann Friedman
* Mark Singel, Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania (from Cambria County)
* Philip Valenti
* Lynn Yeakel, millionaire director of women's studies at Drexel University College of Medicine and daughter of former U.S. Congressman Porter Hardy of Virginia (from Delaware County)

### Results

Yeakel won the five-way primary with 45% of the vote, easily defeating the endorsed candidate, Lieutenant Governor Mark Singel, in an election cycle dubbed by pundits as the "year of the woman".

## General election
### Candidates

* John Perry (Libertarian)
* Arlen Specter, incumbent U.S. Senator (from Philadelphia County) (Republican)
* Lynn Yeakel, millionaire director of women's studies at Drexel University College of Medicine and daughter of former U.S. Representative Porter Hardy Jr. (from Delaware County) (Democratic)

### Campaign

Senator Specter was highly targeted by women's groups for his involvement in the Clarence Thomas proceedings; during his questioning of Anita Hill, Specter appeared to show no sympathy for her allegations of sexual harassment. Furthermore, President Bush's popularity was rapidly declining in the state over high unemployment rates, and was subsequently dragging down Republican candidates.
Polls put Yeakel ahead of Specter by double digits, but Specter ran a campaign that was praised by political analysts for being almost flawless. Despite Yeakel's personal wealth, her inexperience in politics led to fundraising problems; Specter outspent her by a two-to-one margin. This kept Yeakel from running television ads until September 23, a month and a half before the election. The moderate Specter portrayed Yeakel, despite her liberal attitude, as a member of an elitist blue-blood family. He emphasized her father's votes against the Civil Rights Act of 1964 while in Congress, her affiliation with an all-white country club, and her church's minister's vocal criticism of the Israeli government. It did not help matters that a newspaper strike in Pittsburgh crippled Yeakel's ability to introduce herself to voters in the southwest.
Despite her mistakes, including a frequent tendency to mispronounce the names of places in which she was campaigning, Yeakel continued to perform solidly.

## Results

1992 U.S. Senate election in Pennsylvania :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Arlen Specter (incumbent) | 2,358,125 | 49.10% |
| | Democratic | Lynn Yeakel | 2,224,966 | 46.33% |
| | Libertarian | John Perry | 219,319 | 4.57% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 4,822,410 | 100.00% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 133,159 | 2.77% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |
On Election Day, Yeakel captured by large numbers the traditional Democratic strongholds of the state, such as Pittsburgh, Scranton, and Erie; however, Specter undercut Yeakel's support in the state's most critical Democratic county: Philadelphia. Specter campaigned hard in black neighborhoods and received the endorsement of the NAACP. Furthermore, he capitalized on the ambivalence of many Philadelphia Democratic leaders to Yeakel. A self-described reform candidate, Yeakel distanced herself from the city's ward leaders. As a result, while Yeakel carried Philadelphia by a solid 122,000-vote margin, she significantly underperformed Bill Clinton's total there.
Also critical to the campaign was Specter's grass-roots involvement in Yeakel's base, the traditionally GOP, but Democratic-trending, suburbs of Philadelphia. Yeakel also significantly underperformed in the northeast and southwest. She barely won Lackawanna County, home to Scranton, and barely lost Allegheny County, home to Pittsburgh; as mentioned above, she easily carried the cities themselves.