The 2016 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania took place on November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

to represent the

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Maryl ...

, concurrently with the

2016 U.S. presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial United States presidential election, presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican Party (United States), Republican ticket of businessman Donald ...

, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in numerous other states and

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

and various state and local elections. The primaries were held on April 26. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Pat Toomey was reelected to a second term in a close race, defeating Democratic nominee

Katie McGinty Kathleen Alana McGinty (born May 11, 1963) is a retired American politician and former state and federal environmental policy official. She served as an environmental advisor to Vice President Al Gore and President Bill Clinton. Later, she served ...

and

Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties * Outline of libertarianism ...

nominee Edward Clifford. With a margin of 1.43%, this election was the second-closest race of the 2016 Senate election cycle, behind only the election in New Hampshire. As of 2022, this remains the most recent time that a Republican has been elected to the U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania.

Background

Five-term Senator Arlen Specter, a longtime moderate Republican, switched to the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

in April 2009, and ran for reelection in 2010 as a Democrat. He was defeated in the Democratic primary by U.S. Representative and former U.S. Navy three-star admiral Joe Sestak. After a close race, Sestak lost the general election to former U.S. Representative Pat Toomey by 51% to 49%, a margin of 80,229 votes out of almost 4 million cast. Toomey had previously run for the seat in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, narrowly losing to Specter in the Republican Primary. Specter later died in 2012. After the Republicans took control of the Senate following the 2014 Senate elections, the election in Pennsylvania was seen by many as a top target for the Democrats, who hoped to regain their majority. Katie McGinty, who won the Democratic primary, was one of 160 candidates endorsed by

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

. McGinty got her start in politics after winning the Congressional Fellowship of the American Chemical Society, leading to a position with then Senator

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...

. In 1993 she was appointed deputy assistant and then chair of the White House Council of Environmental Quality under

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

. She then went on to be appointed head of the

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is the agency in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania responsible for protecting and preserving the land, air, water, and public health through enforcement of the state's environmental laws. ...

by Governor Ed Rendell in 2003. McGinty faced 2010 nominee Sestask and Mayor of

Braddock Braddock may refer to: Places England, United Kingdom * Braddock, Cornwall ** Battle of Braddock Down, 1643 Canada * Braddock, Saskatchewan * Braddock Lake, Saskatchewan; a reservoir United States * Braddock, New Jersey * Braddock, North Dako ...

, future

Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania The lieutenant governor is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The lieutenant governor is elected for a four-year term in the same year as the governor. Each party picks a candidate for lieutenant governor independently o ...

and holder of this Senate seat John Fetterman in the primary.

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

* Pat Toomey, incumbent U.S. Senator

Did not file

* Everett Stern, security intelligence consultant,

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tri ...

whistleblower and candidate for Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Endorsements

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

* John Fetterman, Mayor of

, former chief of staff to

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Tom Wolf Thomas Westerman Wolf (born November 17, 1948) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 47th governor of Pennsylvania since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he defeated Republican incumbent Tom Corbett in the 2014 guber ...

, former Secretary of the

and candidate for the governorship in

* Joe Sestak, retired navy admiral, former U.S. Representative and nominee for the U.S. Senate in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

* Joseph Vodvarka, small business owner and candidate for the U.S. Senate in

and

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Did not file

* Ed Pawlowski,

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of Allentown and candidate for governor in

Declined

* Bob Brady, U.S. Representative and chairman of the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee (endorsed Katie McGinty) *

Chris Carney Christopher P. Carney (born March 2, 1959) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 2007 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Carney is also an associate professor of political science at Penn State Worthi ...

, former U.S. Representative * Matt Cartwright, U.S. Representative (endorsed Joe Sestak) *

Kathy Dahlkemper Kathleen Ann Dahlkemper ( née Steenberge; born December 10, 1957) is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she was elected the county executive of Erie County, Pennsylvania, in 2013 and served as the U.S. representative for ...

, Erie County

Executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dire ...

and former U.S. Representative (endorsed Katie McGinty) *

Eugene DePasquale Eugenio Anthony DePasquale (born August 3, 1971) is an American Democratic politician who served as the Pennsylvania Auditor General from 2013 to 2021. From 2007 to 2013, he served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing the ...

, Pennsylvania Auditor General ( running for re-election) * Rich Fitzgerald,

Allegheny County Allegheny County () is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Southwestern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's seco ...

Executive (endorsed Katie McGinty) * David Hickton,

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the Western District of Pennsylvania *

Vincent Hughes Vincent J. Hughes (born October 26, 1956) is a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania State Senate, representing the 7th District since 1994. Hughes previously served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 190th Dist ...

, state senator (endorsed Katie McGinty) *

Kathleen Kane Kathleen Granahan Kane (born Kathleen Margaret Granahan; June 14, 1966) is an American former politician and lawyer who served as the 48th Attorney General of Pennsylvania from 2013 until her resignation in 2016 following her conviction for per ...

Pennsylvania Attorney General The Pennsylvania Attorney General is the chief law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It became an elected office in 1980. The current Attorney General is Democrat Josh Shapiro. On August 15, 2016, then-Attorney General Kath ...

Rob McCord Robert Maxwell McCord (born March 5, 1959) is an American former politician and convicted felon. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the Treasurer of Pennsylvania from 2009 to 2015. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic n ...

, former

Pennsylvania Treasurer The Pennsylvania State Treasurer is the head of the Pennsylvania Treasury Department, an independent department of state government. The state treasurer is elected every four years. Treasurers are limited to two consecutive terms. The Pennsylva ...

and candidate for the governorship in

* Patrick Murphy, former U.S. Representative and candidate for attorney general in

Michael Nutter Michael Anthony Nutter (born June 29, 1957) is an American politician who served as the 98th Mayor of Philadelphia. Elected on November 6, 2007, he was reelected to a second term on November 8, 2011. He is a previous member of the Philadelphia ...

Mayor of Philadelphia The mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current mayor of Philadelphia is Jim Kenney. History The first mayor of Philadelphia, ...

(endorsed Katie McGinty) * Ed Rendell, former

Governor of Pennsylvania A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

(endorsed Katie McGinty) *

Allyson Schwartz Allyson Schwartz (née Young; born October 3, 1948) is an American Democratic Party politician who represented parts of Montgomery County and Northeast Philadelphia in the United States House of Representatives from 2005 to 2015 and Northeast and ...

, former U.S. Representative and candidate for the governorship in

Josh Shapiro Joshua David Shapiro (born June 20, 1973) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the Pennsylvania Attorney General since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the governor-elect of Pennsylvania. Raised in Montgomery ...

, chairman of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners and former state representative ( running for attorney general) *

Joe Torsella Joseph M. Torsella (born October 8, 1963) is an American politician and former diplomat, who served as the Pennsylvania Treasurer from 2017 to 2021. He served as the U.S. Representative to the United Nations for Management and Reform (with the ra ...

, United States Representative to the United Nations for Management and Reform and former chairman of the

Pennsylvania State Board of Education Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Maryl ...

(running for state treasurer) *

R. Seth Williams Rufus Seth Williams (born January 2, 1967) is a former district attorney of the city of Philadelphia. He began his term January 4, 2010. He formerly served as an assistant district attorney. Williams was the first African-American district attorn ...

, District Attorney of Philadelphia

Endorsements

Debates

A debate hosted by Carnegie Mellon University's

Heinz College The Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy, often called Heinz College, at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is a private graduate college that consists of one of the nation's top-ranked public policy schools� ...

in association with the 14th Ward Independent Democratic Club featuring John Fetterman, Katie McGinty, and Joe Sestak occurred on January 31 at Rangos Hall in Jared L. Cohon University Center, Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh. A debate hosted by Keystone Progress featuring John Fetterman, Katie McGinty, and Joe Sestak occurred on February 19 at the Hilton Harrisburg, in the Harrisburg Ballroom, in Harrisburg.

Polling

Results

United States Senate Democratic primary in Pennsylvania, 2016

General election

Candidates

* Edward T. "Ed" Clifford, III (L), accountant *

(D), former chief of staff to

, former

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

of the

and candidate for governor in

* Pat Toomey (R), incumbent

Debates

Predictions

Polling

Results

Overall

By county

Notes

References

External links

;Official campaign websites
Pat Toomey (R) for Senate

Katie McGinty (D) for Senate
{{2016 United States elections

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Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...