[Alberta's Child]

Jim Geraghty is right on this one. I made the exact same point on this PA-12 election on several threads yesterday.

The Democratic candidate won in the PA-12 election because the Democratic turnout was higher than usual due to the high-profile, hotly-contested statewide primary election between Sestak and Specter.

Pat Toomey is already the GOP nominee for the U.S. Senate race, so there was no comparable high-profile statewide race to bring GOP voters out.

It's also worth noting that Pennsylvania has a "closed" primary system, so independents weren't involved in the primary election anyway and therefore had less incentive to show up for the PA-12 election.

[MNJohnnie]

It's also worth noting that Pennsylvania has a "closed" primary system, so independents weren't involved in the primary election anyway and therefore had less incentive to show up for the PA-12 election.

Did you know this. I didn't. Sure puts a different light on Tuesdays results in PA-12

[MNJohnnie]

Thanks for the excellent insight. I did not know that point that Indys were not a big factor in Tuesdays results.