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 County results Heinz: 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80-90% Vignola: 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1988 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on November 8, 1988. Incumbent Republican U.S. SenatorJohn Heinz successfully sought re-election to another term, defeating Democratic nomineeJoe Vignola.
Joe Vignola was not expected by Democratic Party leaders to have a substantial chance at defeating the popular incumbent John Heinz, even predicting that Vignola would become "Heinz's 58th variety,"[1] referring to an advertising slogan of theH. J. Heinz Company. Heinz, knowing this, ran a low-profile re-election campaign and was safely ahead in polling.
Vignola traveled across Pennsylvania promoting an increase in domestic spending, including education and healthcare, while decreasing the defense budget to compensate. Vignola ran a positive campaign, in contrast withCyril Wecht six years previously, although many Democratic ward leaders and committee members had given up on the campaign and had stopped campaigning for Vignola.[1]
Heinz easily defeated Vignola to win the election and another term in the Senate, carrying every Pennsylvania county exceptPhiladelphia, Vignola's hometown, and by a comfortable 1.49 million vote margin. Heinz performed well in suburban areas, as well as the central, southwestern and northeastern portions of the state.
Outside of Philadelphia, Vignola's best county-wide showing was inFayette County, where he won 45% of the vote; his poorest county-wide performance was inSnyder County, where he won 12% of the vote.
Although Heinz's landslide victory was largely expected among Democratic leaders, Heinz won by a wide margin despite the Democrats' 551,000-voter registration advantage statewide.[1]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | H. John Heinz III (Incumbent) | 2,901,715 | 66.45% | +7.17% | |
| Democratic | Joseph Vignola | 1,416,764 | 32.45% | −6.75% | |
| Consumer | Darcy Richardson | 25,273 | 0.58% | +0.12% | |
| Libertarian | Henry E. Haller II | 11,822 | 0.27% | −0.26% | |
| Populist | Samuel Cross | 6,455 | 0.15% | +0.15% | |
| New Alliance | Sam Blancato | 4,569 | 0.11% | +0.11% | |
| Total votes | 4,366,598 | 100% | |||
| Majority | 1,484,951 | 34.00% | +13.92% | ||
| Republicanhold | |||||
Heinz died in an airplane crash on April 4, 1991, inLower Merion Township, Pennsylvania.[3]
DemocratHarris Wofford was appointed on May 8 to fill the vacancy caused by Heinz's death, and subsequently won aspecial election in November 1991. In the1994 election, however, Wofford was defeated by RepublicanRick Santorum.[4][5]
