Klink on the ropes with one week left

It's a race important enough to enlist help from Democratic National Committee Chairman Ed Rendell in the final hours. Still, Pennsylvania's Senate race appears to be the Republicans' to lose. Incumbent U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum is the strong favorite in his bid for re-election, surprising analysts who thought he was in for a tough fight and leaving Rep. Ron Klink of Pittsburgh scrambling to gain ground in this crucial last week of campaigning. Klink appeared with former Philadelphia Mayor Rendell in the city yesterday to focus on the need for a Patient's Bill of Rights. The two were joined by Michigan Congressman John Dingell and Texas State Rep. Garnet Coleman. Earlier this month, President Clinton rallied support for Klink, and two weeks ago the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee began airing ads for him in the expensive Philadelphia media market, which his campaign could not afford on its own. Klink is a Democratic anomaly, holding pro-life and anti-gun control positions. And Santorum is a right-wing Republican elected in the "Republican revolution" of 1994, with conservative views down the line that made him a top target for Democrats. A poll released yesterday by Millersville University had Santorum with 48 percent and Klink with a dismal 27 percent. A quarter of the electorate remains undecided. While Klink is receiving all the help his party can muster, Santorum is handling his campaign single-handedly -- and helping out fellow Republicans. On Monday, Santorum was campaigning for Republican candidates in races for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Santorum appears confident of his win next week, having outfundraised and outspent the largely unknown Klink. But the Republican campaign publicly denies any feeling of confidence, pointing to Monday's appearance by Santorum as beneficial for both his campaign and those of the candidates for the statehouse. "We are running this race like we're 10 points behind," Santorum Press Secretary Rob Traynham said. "We're not taking any vote for granted." But despite a lack of either name recognition or money, the Klink campaign is keeping up a a stoic public face. "It's going very well," Klink spokeswoman Elizabeth Stanley maintained. "Ron Klink's message is resonating throughout Pennsylvania." Stanley points to Santorum's campaigning for statehouse candidates as an attempt to deflect Klink's attacks. "It's a good opportunity to avoid criticisms of his own campaign," Stanley said. But despite his criticism of Santorum, Klink has a lot of ground to cover in the precious time remaining. While Klink has had to rely on the support of the DSCC to fund advertisements here -- those television ads were pulled off the air two weeks ago, leaving the Philadelphia market Santorum's -- his opponent has released an ad in the Pittsburgh area harshly critical of Klink's character. The new Santorum ad points out that a business venture of Klink's had some run-ins with the law -- a bar operated by Klink in Pittsburgh lost its liquor license. The Klink campaign has called Santorum's ad dirty politics. "This is a desperate tactic against Ron Klink," Stanley said. But the Santorum campaign defended the ad. "Over the past five-and-a-half to six months our opponent has continued on the path of telling untruths and distorting our record," Traynham said. "We felt that it was time to highlight [Klink's] illegal record."