Pat Toomey Wins PA US Senate Race
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania went down to the wire. Just after 1:30 Wednesday morning, Senator Pat Toomey had enough votes to declare victory.
The battle between incumbent Toomey and Democratic challenger Katie McGinty was the most expensive Senate campaign ever, at more than $160 million spent.
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From his Lehigh County election night headquarters, Sen. Toomey declared victory by a margin of about a hundred thousand votes. Toomey admitted it was a hard-won race.
"Let's face it, this was a tough campaign," he said. "This was quite a battle. There was an all-time record amount of money spent against us. A lot of the ads were just downright false, but voters were smart enough to figure it out, as they usually are."
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Conceding the race in Philadelphia, McGinty remained cheerful and upbeat before a ballroom of supporters that included her former boss, Governor Tom Wolf.
"Well Pennsylvania it has been a ride and a privilege and an adventure," she told the crowd.
After a campaign that was notoriously ugly, there was some civility at the very end.
"He has earned and deserves our gratitude and respect and I wished him God's blessings and Godspeed and a bright future for himself, his family and Pennsylvania," McGinty said of her phone call to Toomey.
"I want to congratulate Katie McGinty on running a very spirited campaign," Toomey said.
Toomey told his supporters he planned to take a little time off, and offered a look into his plans for his second term.
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"I don't think Washington should be making medical decisions for all of us," he said. "And I don't think Washington should be making the job of law enforcement more difficult than it already is."
With Toomey's victory, Republicans will retain control of the Senate, 51 to 47.
The Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Rob Gleason released the following statement regarding the statewide elections.
"The eyes of the world watched as Pennsylvania sent a Republican President and U.S. Senator to Washington," Gleason said. "The energy we've seen for Donald Trump and Pat Toomey in the Keystone State was unprecedented, and that energy translated into votes thanks to the hard work and dedication of thousands of volunteers throughout Pennsylvania. With Donald Trump in the White House and Pat Toomey back in the United States Senate, Pennsylvania delivered a message that we want to get on the right track.
"I would like to also thank our wonderful state row office candidates for running such strong campaigns. John Rafferty, John Brown and Otto Voit all worked extremely hard to bring their messages to voters, and I thank them for standing up and running to make our Commonwealth a better place.
"Now, it's time to help Make America Great Again!"
