Sestak, Toomey take aim at moderate voters

The race for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania now has less than three months to go and the candidates from the two major political parties were busy in Philadelphia yesterday, courting moderate voters crucial for victory.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, a moderate Republican from Maine, headlined a $1,000-per-head campaign fundraiser for former U.S. Rep. Pat Toomey. Collins proved she doesn't hold a grudge about the conservative Club for Growth dubbing her "comrade of the month" 18 months ago, when Toomey led the group.

U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, Toomey's Democratic opponent, tried to capitalize on the GOP fundraiser by holding a news conference an hour earlier at which four long- time Republicans from his native Delaware County explained why they support him in the race.

Toomey and Sestak were clearly cozying up to the middle of the state's political spectrum after weeks of trying to paint each other as partisan extremists.

Collins, targeted by the Club for Growth for supporting President Obama's stimulus package, said "there is room in the Republican Party" for people who don't agree on every issue.

"This is a pivotal race," Collins said after speaking for Toomey to about 70 people at the Union League. "It is one of those key Senate races that is going to determine whether the Republicans are going to be able to regain control of the Senate or at least increase our numbers so that we can be an effective check on the excesses of this administration."

Sestak's campaign gathered a small group of GOP voters at the National Constitution Center yesterday to talk about "Toomey's record of purging moderates from the Republican Party."

But the four Republicans who spoke mostly focused on why they decided to support Sestak four years ago, when he first ran for the U.S. House.

"I'm a Republican," said Rob Sulek, of Concord Township. "I'm moderate, but I'm also open-minded to people who are willing to listen, to understand different points of view. And Joe's willing to cross the aisle if it's necessary."

Frank Gastner, of Glen Mills, echoed Sulek's praise for Sestak.

"He had a trait that was very important to me: He listened," Gastner said. "He didn't always agree. But he listened."

The Senate race expanded Friday with the addition of Libertarian candidate Douglas Jamison.

Green Party candidate Mel Packer was briefly rejected yesterday, the filing deadline for the Nov. 2 general election, because the Department of State said that he did not have enough signatures on his nominating petitions. Packer returned with more names and was placed on the ballot.

Jamison, an engineer from the Pittsburgh suburb of Venetia, calls on his campaign Web site for a strong national defense, for cutting spending to pay down debt, requiring senators to take a 50-percent pay cut and fixing Medicare and Social Security.

Packer, a physician's assistant from Pittsburgh, calls on his Web site for universal health care, an end to all wars, abolishment of nuclear weapons, massive cuts in military budgets and an end to military aid to other nations.