Low-Key Democrat Leads High-Stakes Senate Race

Social Conservative Bob Casey Is an Unlikely Party Hero

READING, Pa. -- For Bob Casey Jr., it was one of the good days in his campaign to send Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) into political obscurity. Morning brought word of a new poll showing him with a 12-point lead over Santorum, who is the third most powerful Republican in the Senate, and evening brought an adoring audience to a fundraiser here in a private home, where Casey said with growing confidence, "I really believe this race is about America."

His voice, in contrast to the high-pitched, battle-ready aggressiveness that is in Santorum's, was polite as he criticized his opponent and President Bush, touched upon his Catholic upbringing and discussed his work as a Jesuit volunteer in inner-city Philadelphia. "In the life of a middle-class family, things are not going all that well," he said several weeks ago to the middle-class crowd, and as he went on, his quiet words blended with the cricket chirps coming through the open windows.

When Casey was done talking, the next sounds included scribbling pens and checks being torn out of checkbooks because of what Democrats say this race means: A Casey victory would not only topple one of America's best-known conservatives but would also enhance the Democrats' prospects of winning control of the Senate.

The Democrats need to pick up six seats to take control of the Senate, and Pennsylvania has become one of their best hopes. Emboldened by polls showing widespread discontent with the GOP-controlled Congress, Democrats vow a fundamental reordering of domestic and foreign policy if their party sweeps to victory in the Senate and House on Nov. 7.

In going after a high-ranking Senate Republican, Democrats picked someone well suited for the role: the state treasurer and a member of one of Pennsylvania's best-known political families, who has strong conservative views on social issues, a liberal economic philosophy and opposition to the war in Iraq. Casey is against abortion and gun control, and he agrees with the current federal policy that limits embryonic stem cell research -- all positions that have inoculated him against attacks from the right.

Sen. Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.), the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, was so eager to recruit Casey that he and Gov. Edward G. Rendell (D) forced former state treasurer Barbara Hafer out of the race. That move rankled many liberal Democrats because of Hafer's support of abortion rights, but Schumer viewed Casey as the only candidate who could beat Santorum.

Since formally announcing his candidacy in March 2005, Casey has held a steady lead over Santorum in the polls. Yet even as he appears on the verge of a victory with national implications, many in his state and throughout the country know little about his background. Casey, 46, gives new meaning to political humility, and he discourages attention to his personal life or comparisons to his father, the late Robert P. Casey, a former governor.

"When a good politician walks in the room, even if you don't see him, you know it. The oxygen is sucked out of the room," said David Paul, a financial adviser in the Philadelphia suburbs and a Casey supporter. "When Casey comes in, you really don't know he's there. Whatever people were talking about, they just keep talking."

G. Terry Madonna, a Pennsylvania pollster, said, "If you ask people 'Who is Bob Casey Jr.?' their answer would be 'Well, I think he's a public official whose father was governor.' " Madonna, director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin and Marshall College, added, "They will not have a real specific sense about who he is."

Casey, when asked to talk about himself during a recent interview, replied, "Yeah, gosh, let's talk about public policy for a while."

Casey's father was a dominant figure in Pennsylvania. As a youth, he was a gifted athlete who turned down a tryout with the Philadelphia Phillies to accept a college basketball scholarship. After college and law school, he won his first election, becoming the state's auditor general, and made three unsuccessful bids for governor before finally winning in 1986. His two terms were notable for advances in welfare reform and health care for women and children. He was also a staunch foe of abortion.

The governor was barred from speaking at the 1992 Democratic National Convention in part because of his un-Democrat-like opposition to abortion. He was also the defendant in a U.S. Supreme Court case that year called Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, which challenged Pennsylvania restrictions on abortion and, to the dismay of abortion proponents, led to a redefining of fetal viability.