Democratic Abortion-Rights Opponent Casey Announces Plans for US Senate Campaign; Hafer, Hoeffel Drop Out of Race

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 08 Mar 2005 - 1:00 PDT

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Pennsylvania Treasurer Bob Casey, Jr (D), who opposes abortion rights, on Friday announced plans to challenge Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) in 2006 in a "closely watched" Senate race that could indicate the Democratic Party's "changing attitudes" toward the issue of abortion rights, the... New York Times reports (Dao, New York Times, 3/5). Former Rep. Joe Hoeffel (D-Pa.) and former state Treasurer Barbara Hafer (D), both of whom support abortion rights, previously had indicated that they might challenge Santorum. However, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee recruited Casey to run against Santorum in the Senate race (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 2/3). Following Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell's (D) Friday endorsement of Casey, Hafer withdrew from the race, according to the Times. "The governor has asked me to step aside and allow Treasurer Casey to run unopposed for U.S. Senate. After some consideration, I have decided to agree to the governor's request," Hafer said in a statement (New York Times, 3/5). Hoeffel also agreed to withdraw from the race after speaking with Casey, according to the AP/CBS2.com. "I really want to see Rick Santorum defeated, and it seems to me that Bob Casey has the best chance to do that," Hoeffel said (Jackson, AP/CBS2.com, 3/5).

Reaction
A Senate race between Casey and Santorum would "pit two ardently pro-life candidates against each other" and could indicate "a deepening divide" in the Democratic Party over abortion rights, the Washington Times reports. Some Democrats have said that the party must "compromise on certain values issues," such as abortion rights, to "reverse its current losing streak," according to the Washington Times (Hurt, Washington Times, 3/5). Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean recently said that the Democratic Party is "going to embrace pro-life Democrats because pro-life Democrats care about kids after they're born, not just before they're born," according to Reuters (Kenen, Reuters, 3/6). Many national and state Democratic Party leaders encouraged Casey to challenge Santorum because of the possibility that his "relatively conservative views" could limit Santorum's ability to garner support from conservative Democrats, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (O'Toole/Reston, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 3/5). However, other Democrats have said that an abortion-rights supporter could more effectively challenge Santorum by "providing ideological contrast and firing up the party's base," the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. "We're backtracking on an important principle," Dayle Steinberg, president of Planned Parenthood of Southeast Pennsylvania, said, adding, "It's backlash from the election, and I hope it's temporary." Casey, who has said he would not impose an abortion litmus test when voting whether to confirm federal judges, likely will focus on issues other than abortion rights during his Senate campaign, according to the Inquirer (Budoff/Fitzgerald, Philadelphia Inquirer, 3/5).

Rhode Island Senate Race
In addition to Casey, DSCC also recruited abortion-rights opponent Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) to run against abortion-rights supporter Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) in 2006 (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 2/3). Langevin, who has been a quadriplegic since he was injured in an accident when he was 16, recently said, "I realize every day how precious life is, despite all my challenges," adding, "I wouldn't deprive anyone of that experience," according to Reuters. Langevin said that Dean's message shows him that the Democratic Party is a "party of inclusion," according to Reuters. Although Langevin opposes abortion rights, he "shares the [Democratic Party's] core beliefs on most other policies, including what's best for children and families," according to Reuters (Reuters, 3/6).

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/repro The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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