PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Pennsylvania voters sent Democratic state Treasurer Bob Casey Jr. to the U.S. Senate in a landslide, ousting conservative Republican incumbent Rick Santorum.
With 99 percent of precincts reporting Wednesday, Casey, 46, defeated the two-term incumbent 59 percent to 41 percent, becoming the first Democrat to win a full U.S. Senate term from Pennsylvania in more than four decades.
"Tonight I believe in my heart that Pennsylvania is where the new America begins," Casey, son of former Democratic Gov. Bob Casey, said at the Scranton Cultural Center. "But what we must do together as Pennsylvania and Americans is not going to be easy. It's not going to be the smooth path but we have to chart a new course for all of America."
Santorum, 48, the No. 3 Senate Republican, conceded the race before 10 p.m., the Philadelphia Inquirer reported, and pledged a "seamless" transition.
