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 County results Congressional district results Precinct resultsSpecter: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Lloyd: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: 30–40% 40–50% No data | |||||||||||||||||
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The1998 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held November 3, 1998. Incumbent Republican U.S. SenatorArlen Specter won re-election to a fourth term.
Leading up to this campaign, the state Democratic Party faced difficulty, as it was plagued by prior corruption allegations of several key legislators and by a lack of fund-raising. Just as in the accompanyinggubernatorial race, the party had difficulty in finding a credible candidate. State Representative Bill Lloyd, who was a well-respected party leader but who had little statewide name recognition, was considered by Democratic party leaders[2] to be a sacrificial lamb candidate. Specter ran a straightforward campaign and attempted to avoid mistakes, while Lloyd's bid was so underfunded that he was unable to air a single commercial until two weeks before the election. Lloyd's strategy was to portray Republicans as hyper-partisan in wake of their attempt to impeach PresidentBill Clinton, but he was unable to gain any traction with his message. On Election Day, Specter's win was by the second-largest margin in the history of Senate elections in Pennsylvania. Lloyd won only two counties: almost uniformly DemocraticPhiladelphia and his home county, rural and typically RepublicanSomerset County.[3] As of 2022, this is the last timeAllegheny County voted for a Republican Senate candidate.
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | Arlen Specter (R) | William Lloyd Jr. (D) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mason Dixon[4] | October 25–27, 1998 | 807 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 57% | 34% | 9% |
| Mason Dixon[4] | October 3–6, 1998 | 801 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 55% | 31% | 14% |
| Millersville University[4][A] | September 25–29, 1998 | 629 (A) | ± 4.6% | 52% | 27% | 11% |
| Mason Dixon[4] | September 14–16, 1998 | 806 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 58% | 27% | 15% |
| Mason Dixon[4] | August 2–4, 1998 | 806 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 57% | 25% | 18% |
| Millersville University[4] | July 8–28, 1998 | 451 (RV) | ± 4.6% | 56% | 26% | 18% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Arlen Specter (incumbent) | 1,814,180 | 61.34% | |
| Democratic | William R. Lloyd Jr. | 1,028,839 | 34.79% | |
| Constitution | Dean Snyder | 68,377 | 2.31% | |
| Libertarian | Jack Iannantuono | 46,103 | 1.56% | |
| Republicanhold | ||||
