On the evening of Nov. 2, Pennsylvania picked its new governor, Republican Tom Corbett, and new senator, Republican Pat Toomey. Although Republicans took both the Senator and the Governor seat in Pennsylvania, the country as a whole saw the Democrats continue to reign the Senate with 51 seat. However, the GOP still holds the House with 239 out of 422 seats.
The news of Corbett’s victory came around 10:20 p.m., nearly an hour before Toomey’s win was announced.
Corbett was the State Attorney General for the Western District of Pa., and he ran against Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, and successfully defeated him. On his web site, Corbett listed job creation as his number one priority. Corbett is pro-life, supports the Pennsylvania Marriage Amendment Act, which states that marriage is between a man and a woman, is opposed to legalizing marijuana and he signed a no-tax pledge when he ran for Governor.
According to Corbett’s web site, “Fiscal Discipline, limited government and free enterprise” guide Corbett’s administration. However, the budget deficit that awaits Corbett when he takes office in January is a huge challenge. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the stiff General Assembly will be an additional obstacle.
Toomey won the Senator seat with 51 percent of the vote over Democrat Joe Sestak, a second-term member of the U.S. House from Delaware County.
Both Toomey and Sestak are known for their extreme ideologies, and while this helped them gain a large number of voters from both their parties, the Republicans swept away the Independent vote with 54 percent of the votes. Toomey, like Corbett, is a pro-life and believes that marriage is best defined as between a man and a woman.
Surveys have uncovered that voters were frustrated with the Obama administration and the Democrats in general for their failure to make any drastic improvements in their lives.
What does it mean to the students? According to Dr. Kathy Lee, Political Science Department Chair at Eastern, students have something to keep an eye out for. In March, the Congress passed a bill that overhauled the student loan program. “[The] Question will be whether a Republican-controlled House of Representatives will revisit this issue,” Dr. Lee said.