For area candidates, mixed results on Election Day

by MICHAEL J. MISHAK

Most 9th Ward voters went to bed on Nov. 2 with the knowledge that their vote helped clinch Pennsylvania for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. Still, the contest for the American presidency remained unclear, even for those who huddled in the glow of their television sets into the early morning hours, hoping the network anchors would give some indication of a decisive winner.

Ultimately, the fate of the race rested west.

Ninth Ward voters, uncertain of a presidential winner, propped their pillows with pride as one of their own was declared a winner before midnight on Election Day.

Jim Eisenhower, a longtime Chestnut Hill resident and former White House fellow in the Clinton administration, was declared the state's first Democratic attorney general since the position became an elective post in 1980.

The Philadelphia Inquirer boasted of the milestone in its early editions, but the victory was short-lived. For the second time in as many elections, the Associated Press called the race wrongly, with just more than 75 percent of the statewide vote counted.

Tom Corbett, the Republican candidate, did not concede, holding out for the remaining returns his campaign knew would maintain the GOP grip on the state's top law enforcement position.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Corbett beat Eisenhower by 117,681 votes. Though Corbett claimed victory last Wednesday, at press time Eisenhower still had not conceded the race, holding out hope for provisional, military and overseas ballots.

"We think it's premature to officially concede at this time," said Nicholas Pullen, Eisenhower campaign manager, on Monday. "If the full results show we lost, Jim will not only concede, he'll offer his assistance in the transition."

As the Democratic candidate in 2000, Eisenhower lost to Republican incumbent Mike Fisher by 504,109 votes in a field of five candidates four years ago.

Though close, the race's current vote-margin this year does not meet the state's threshold for an automatic recount, said Brian McDonald, spokesman for the department of state. The vote-margin must fall within one-half of 1 percent of the vote total to qualify for a recount, he said.

The state's 67 counties started counting provisional ballots last Friday and begin certifying their returns to the commonwealth this week. Despite an extension for absentee ballots, which could bring as many as 6,000 votes, an Eisenhower surge is unlikely, McDonald said. Since provisional ballots are tracked by individual counties, not the department of state, there wasn't an official count early this week, but preliminary estimates do not bode well for the Chestnut Hill resident. More than 67,000 ballots were distributed in Philadelphia, and more than 15,000 in Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh. Both are areas with strong Democratic voter registrations, but are unlikely to provide the necessary votes.

Still, huge Democratic margins in the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas kept the race tight. According to official results from the Philadelphia County City Commissioners Office (with 97 percent of the vote counted), Eisenhower captured more than 78 percent of the 9th Ward vote. Citywide, the candidate boosted that percentage by two points.

In the presidential race, nearly 82 percent of 9th Ward voters cast ballots for Democrat John Kerry and nearly 17 percent chose President George W. Bush. Three third-party candidates picked up a handful of votes.

Bush performed poorer among local voters this year, down more than three percentage points from his 20 percent showing four years ago. In 2000, Democratic candidate Al Gore captured 77 percent of the vote.

Current voter registration figures show Democrats (9,089) outnumber Republicans (2,211) by a ratio of more than 4-1 in the 9th Ward. While 57 voters are registered Green, 32 Libertarian and 7 Constitution, 134 are affiliated with other parties.

Voter participation among 9th Ward voters in the presidential race rose 7 percentage points, from 63 percent in 2000 to 70 percent in 2004. Citywide voter turnout was 61 percent, up more than six points from 54.75 percent in the 2000 general election.

Long lines did not deter 9,029 of the ward's 12,884 registered voters from casting ballots. Discounting the 1,268 voters designated inactive by the city's Voter Registration Office, voter turnout jumps to nearly 78 percent.

Fatigue may have affected voters' participation in other races as they navigated the ballot. About 68 percent of 9th Ward voters favored Democrat Joe Hoeffel over Republican incumbent Arlen Specter in the U.S. Senate race. Specter picked up 28 percent of the vote, with two third-party candidates rounding out the race. In the Senate race, 210 voters did not vote for any candidate.

Though 9th Ward voters were ineligible to vote in the 13th Congressional District race, their Springfield Township neighbors cast ballots in the contest between Democratic State Sen. Allyson Schwartz, formerly of Mt. Airy, and Republican Melissa Brown, of Flourtown.

Schwartz, whose state Senate district includes Chestnut Hill and Mt. Airy, handily snatched victory with more than 55 percent of the vote. The decisive winner in Philadelphia and Montgomery County, Schwartz will vacate her state Senate seat in January when she begins her four-year term in the U.S. Congress.

As a Democrat in a state legislature that has been controlled by Republicans for most of her 14 years in Harrisburg, Schwartz knows the importance of the compromise solution. "You have to cross the aisle to get things done," she said in a conference call with reporters last week.