Toomey expresses confidence in Senate victory

By Bill O'Boyle boboyle@timesleader.comStaff Writer

WILKES-BARRE – on Friday said he is confident he can win the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate and win the general election.

Referred to sometimes as the man that made Arlen Specter a Democrat, Toomey visited Wilkes-Barre on the campaign trail, meeting with local Republican leaders and he promised he will be back many more times as the campaign heats up.

“This is a key area,” Toomey, 47, said. “This is a swing area and any candidate needs to do well here to get elected.”

Specter, D-Philadelphia, is the incumbent candidate. He is being challenged in the Democratic primary by U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak.

Toomey, of Zionsville, is a former three-term congressman from Lehigh County. He said he decided long ago that he would challenge Specter – then a Republican – in the 2010 primary.

“Then a poll came out and Specter decided to switch parties,” Toomey said. “I think voters are fed up with the political opportunism of Arlen Specter.”

Toomey talked issues, saying Washington and Congress need balance.

“The government in Washington is taking the country in the wrong direction,” he said. “They have taken a lurch to the left.”

Toomey said spending has gotten out of hand and the national debt is out of control. He said health care reform is necessary, but he said there are many ways to keep costs down, like tort reform. He said people, like displaced workers, shouldn’t be penalized for having pre-existing conditions when they seek new coverage.

Toomey said he realizes he will need bi-partisan support to win the Senate seat. He said he is confident he can gain that support as he travels around the state.

Toomey and his wife, Kris, have two children.