Also, Santorum’s opponent was Bob Casey, whose father of the same name was a very popular Democrat Governor.
Casey’s campaign, seemingly by design, misled legions of old and senile voters into thinking that he WAS his dead father. Certainly he did absolutely nothing to try and disabuse anybody of that notion.
He also campaigned as being a Traditional Family Values Democrat who was pro-life among other things. Despite the fact that so far as I can tell he has never failed to vote pro-queer or pro-abortion.
Then the teachers unions and the media cooked up a big kerfluffle over the fact that, like any young father, Santorum had his family spending most of their time with him in the DC area, yet his kids attended a cyber charter school that was being paid for by their school district back in Western PA. This was presented by the slimeball media as something so odious and dishonest, you’d think Rick had actually been out there robbing banks in his spare time.
Lastly, Casey’s populist rant that “all the money that could be used to fix your roads and increase your benefits is getting poured down a rathole in Iraq by George W. Bush” did seem sadly to resonate with a lot of voters.
You have a point about Bob Casey, Jr. Pro-life is a winning stance in PA. However, if I recall correctly, Bob Casey, Jr. was silent on the issue while campaigning. Bob Casey, Sr. was very pro-life and was abused by fellow RATs because he didn't follow their agenda. I think people assumed that Bob Casey, Jr. was also pro-life because his father was.
If Republicans can run a decent candidate against Casey, Jr. he would get his butt kicked.
The root of PA's Republican problems falls squarely Rob Gleason, PA GOP Chairman. He is a spineless RINO, but has tons of political power. Sometimes I think he works for the DNC. Just remember, all politics in PA are corrupt.