Rally At the Valley

Whether barnstorming by plane or pounding the pavement, Republican and Democratic candidates for Pennsylvania governor and U.S. Senate spent a whirlwind day of campaigning Monday meant to energize their supporters hours before the start of voting.

Republican Senate nominee Pat Toomey whipped up the crowd at a packed gymnasium in the Lehigh Valley, capping a furious dash across Pennsylvania as polls showed him with a slight lead over Democratic challenger Joe Sestak. He was joined on the campaign trail by GOP gubernatorial hopeful Tom Corbett _ campaign signs dubbed them “the more jobs team” _ as Republicans hoped to take the governor's mansion for the first time in eight years.

Democrats brought in a pair of party luminaries to pump up their supporters. Former President Bill Clinton shared a stage in McKeesport with Democratic gubernatorial nominee Dan Onorato, while Michelle Obama campaigned for Onorato and Sestak on Monday night at a rally at the University of Pennsylvania that drew more than 1,000.

Democrats have a registration advantage of more than 1 million voters, thanks in part to a surge two years ago in support of Barack Obama's presidential campaign. But the question is whether Democrats can get those voters to the polls Tuesday to counter what election experts say is widespread discontent with the sluggish economy and high unemployment and strong Republican opposition to the Obama administration.

“They've gone too far,” Toomey declared at a rally held north of Philadelphia in an area that he represented for three terms in the House. Toomey and Sestak are competing to succeed five-term Sen. Arlen Specter, whom Sestak beat in the May primary.

Toomey recited a list of Republican objections to the policies of Obama and the Democratic-led Congress, among them “serial bailouts of failing companies, the government nationalizing whole industries, spending money on a scale I never thought was possible.”

To the cheers of hundreds of supporters, he predicted: “Tomorrow across Pennsylvania and across America, we're going to get it right.”
   
 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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