Candidates •
H. John Heinz III, incumbent U.S. Senator (Republican) • Barbara I. Karkutt (Libertarian) • Liane Norman (Consumer) • William H. Thomas (Socialist Workers) •
Cyril Wecht, member of the
Allegheny County Board of Commissioners (Democratic)
Campaign John Heinz's Democratic opponent in the 1982 election was Allegheny County commissioner and former
coroner Cyril Wecht, who lacked significant
name recognition outside of
Pittsburgh, his home town. Although the
1982 elections were a setback nationally for incumbent President
Ronald Reagan and the Republican Party, neither Heinz nor incumbent Republican governor
Dick Thornburgh, who was also
up for re-election in 1982, were challenged by Democrats with statewide prominence. Wecht ran a low-budget campaign, lacking the assets to boost his name recognition;
The Philadelphia Inquirer ran a headline dubbing the contest, "The Race for Senator No One Seemed to Notice." Despite this, Heinz ran a cautious campaign, running as a
moderate due to Pennsylvania's unemployment, 11%, one of the highest in the nation at the time, as well as the declining health of Pennsylvania's coal mining, manufacturing and steel industries. In the end, Heinz won the election by a wide margin, winning 59.3% of the popular vote. Wecht won 39.2% of the popular vote.
Results == See also ==