1974 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania

The 1974 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on November 5, 1974. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Richard Schweiker was re-elected to a second term over Democratic mayor of Pittsburgh Peter F. Flaherty. This election was the first time since 1938 that an incumbent Republican Senator was re-elected to this seat.

1974 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania

← 1968 November 5, 1974 1980 →
 
Nominee Richard Schweiker Peter Flaherty
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 1,843,317 1,596,121
Percentage 53.00% 45.89%

County results

Schweiker:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Flaherty:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election

Richard Schweiker
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Richard Schweiker
Republican

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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General election

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Candidates

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Campaign

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In the general election campaign, Schweiker faced popular Pittsburgh mayor Peter Flaherty. Both candidates, as highlighted by a New York Times article, "[took] firm stands against inflation, recession, big spending by the Federal Government and abortion on demand."[1] Schweiker, who was endorsed by the AFL–CIO, distanced himself from the Richard Nixon administration, specifically the Watergate scandal, by emphasizing his early calls for Nixon's resignation and the fact that he was on Nixon's "enemies list."[1]

In the end, Schweiker won re-election with 53% of the popular vote, with Flaherty winning 45.9%. Schweiker carried 53 of Pennsylvania's counties, a decrease from the 59 counties he carried in the 1968 election. Flaherty had a strong showing in Allegheny County, which contains his home town of Pittsburgh, which Schweiker had won in 1968. The final election results represented a political divide between the eastern and western portions of the state, Schweiker in the east and Flaherty in the west, with the exception of Flaherty's slim 4,491 vote victory in Philadelphia.[1]

Results

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Pennsylvania United States Senate Election, 1974[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Richard Schweiker (incumbent) 1,843,317 53.00%
Democratic Peter F. Flaherty 1,596,121 45.89%
Constitution George W. Shankey 38,004 1.09%
Write-in 370 0.01%
Majority 247,196 7.11%
Turnout 3,477,812
Republican hold Swing

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Sundquist, Renée M. Lamis ; with a foreword by James L. (2009). The realignment of Pennsylvania politics since 1960 : two-party competition in a battleground state. University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press. pp. 100–102. ISBN 978-0271034195.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 1974 [sic]" (PDF). Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House. Retrieved July 8, 2014.