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Conservative Issues Boosted GOP in Tight Senate Campaigns (Joseph A. D'Agostino, Human Events)

A close examination of the issues featured in the nation's most hard-fought Senate campaigns demonstrates that Republicans who ran on conservative issues helped the GOP regain control, 51 to 48, with one Democratic-leaning independent. Here is a survey of the issues that dominated state-by-state debate in the Senate races:

Arkansas, Sen. Tim Hutchinson (R.) v. Mark Pryor (D.):

This campaign, won by challenger Pryor, was marked by his run to the right and Hutchinson's dented image as a pro-family conservative due to his divorce and remarriage
to a staffer three years ago.

Illegality: Just a few days before the election, accusations surfaced that Pryor had hired an illegal immigrant as a maid but not paid payroll taxes. Pryor said that she was legal but did not say that he paid payroll taxes for her.

Abortion: Pryor ran away from the pro-choice label he had previously applied to himself and announced in a debate that he opposed abortion except in cases of rape, incest, and to save the life of the mother. He even rejected the endorsement of Gloria Steinem's Voters for Choice. Hutchinson has always been pro-life.

Gun rights: Pryor ran an ad in which he said, "Unlike some Democrats in Washington, I believe in strengthening the military, and I support the President in the War on Terrorism. I am a hunter and a gun-owner, and I'll protect the 2nd Amendment rights of every American." Regardless, the NRA endorsed Hutchinson and Charlton Heston campaigned for him.

Race card: Pryor campaign officials claimed that Hutchinson wanted to "disenfranchise" black voters, and Bill Clinton came to the state to say that Republicans "don't have the interest of black voters at heart."

Interesting to see how social conservative issues played out in each race. Posted by Orrin Judd at November 9, 2002 5:56 AM