Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, Tom Smith, has two simple campaign strategies: emphasize his business background to voters and highlight the voting record of incumbent U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-Lackawanna).
“He votes with the President over 90 percent of the time,” Smith said in an interview after speaking at PMA headquarters on October 15.
The straightforward campaign strategy appears to be working. A recent Quinnipiac University poll shows Smith only three points behind Casey, 48 percent to 45 percent. In early August, Casey had an eighteen point lead, 55 percent to 37.
“What resonated in that room today with business leaders is the same thing that is resonating with voters,” Smith said. “We need people in office who can not only reduce the size of government, but that are proven job creators.”
Smith started a coal mining business in 1989. He financed it by mortgaging everything he owned. By 2010, his companies with over 100 employees, were mining more than a million tons of coal a year.
“Senator Casey appears to be losing momentum as his race with Tom Smith is now within the margin of error,” said PMA Executive Director David N. Taylor. “After having won office by linking his predecessor to his party’s unpopular incumbent President, it appears Bob Casey may now meet the same fate.”