Hoeffel trails Specter by large margin in Senate race

With the nation's attention on the presidential election on Nov. 2, the fight for the Pennsylvania seat in the U.S. Senate may be overlooked by many.

Arlen Specter has served as a senator for Pennsylvania for 24 years and has a reputation as a moderate Republican. By contrast, his opponent, Joe Hoeffel was elected to Congress in 1998, and nearly three out of every four voters say they do not know him well enough to form an opinion of him.

Hoeffel has to make up a lot of ground in the next five weeks, being about 20 points behind, according to polls released last Thursday, and $2 million behind in campaign funds. Unlike Specter, he's a lifelong Pennsylvanian, but remains largely unknown outside of his southeastern Pennsylvania base.

Yet the situation may not be as dire as it sounds for Hoeffel. His campaign has only recently launched television advertisements, and both Republicans and Democrats alike know Specter's lead will narrow. And despite all of Specter's seeming advantages, he is coming off a tough primary race in which he barely defeated the ultra-conservative Pat Toomey.

"If we look back at Arlen Specter's campaign, he outspent Pat Toomey 4-to-1," Hoeffel spokeswoman Kristen Carvell said. "He spent more than $15 million in the primary, only to scrape by [with] 1.2 percent."

The Specter campaign, however, claims that the incumbent's seniority is his strongest card, a benefit that will not only attract voters, but which also enables him to perform his job more efficiently in areas that directly affect students.

"His seniority helps the community and Pennsylvania by getting a fair share of federal appropriations to help universities and schools," said Chris Nicholas, spokeswoman for Specter. "He's a moderate and a centrist, and that has helped him."

Carvell, however, said that Specter's many years in the Senate will actually count against him, citing polls that said nearly 30 percent of Pennsylvania voters view him unfavorably after some of his moves in office.

"The problems facing Pennsylvania haven't gotten better -- they've gotten worse," she said. Quoting figures from the Census Bureau's labor force statistics, she noted employment rates have been unsteady, and job security is a major issue for voters.

"One of the top issues on a student's mind is getting a job after they graduate from college," she said, adding that "Arlen Specter's loyal support for Bush-Cheney and its failed policies has really had an effect on our economy."

But as in his previous general election race, Specter has won the support of the AFL-CIO, the largest labor union in the country. Nicholas said the endorsements of the union and the clergy were important steps, and demonstrate Specter's commitment to the state.

Though the Penn College Democrats and Republicans are more focused on the presidential race, they will both be campaigning hard for their senate candidates.

Rich Eisenberg, a College senior and president of the Penn Democrats, said that because Hoeffel's message coincides with that of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), publicity for one would be beneficial to the other.

"It's important to get people energized for this race," he said. "It's important to get Joe Hoeffel's name out there. If you look at the stage of the campaign, he's not in a terrible position."

College senior and Penn Republicans Chairwoman Stephanie Steward was not convinced, though, claiming that Specter's name and bipartisan support would see him re-elected.

"I'm sure [the poll gap] will be made up some. I think [Hoeffel] might get some ground," she said. "But it's definitely going to be a double-digit victory" for Specter.

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