TodayElection 2008: Vance easily retakes state Senate seat
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State Senator Pat Vance, R-31, addresses the Republican Party and supporters during a gathering held Tuesday evening at the Radisson Penn Harris Hotel & Convention Center in Camp Hill. (Matthew O'Haren/Special to The Sentinel)
After a long campaign, state Senator Pat Vance, R-31, had a decisive win Tuesday night against Democratic challenger Susan Kiskis.
“I’m very happy that I was able to win and that it is over,” Vance said.
With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Vance won by a 73,281-30,777 margin. Results are unofficial until certified by county commissioners.
Early in the evening, Kiskis said she expected a “strong showing” against the incumbent, who won a second term.
As a registered nurse, Vance focused on health care issues during her first term. Her work also included legislation to ease the burden related to the federal Chesapeake Bay clean-up mandate.
The 31st district has traditionally trended Republican, Kiskis said, and one of the challenges for her was getting voters to give her a chance to present her positions.
Despite their partisan differences, Vance and Kiskis had a number of similarities in their campaigns.
Both emphasized the importance of constituent relationships.
“I think those of us who hold office must realize that you don’t just run for office at election time,“ Vance said.
She said that the state’s faltering revenue will be a priority for her in her next term.
“We are first going to have to look very seriously at the economy and that is going to overshadow everything else,” Vance said.
Kiskis said she also talked to voters about fiscal concerns during her campaign.
“One of the things I really impressed is that I really believe in cutting legislative salaries,” Kiskis said.
With an unreliable economy weighing on many peoples’ minds, she said, it is important that legislators re-evaluate their incomes.
Kiskis said she was hoping to ride the voters’ desire for fresh leadership to victory, a theme that has resonated in contests at all levels this election year.
Like many Democratic supporters at the Cumberland County Democratic Committee headquarters, much of the challenger’s attention was reserved for the presidential race between Arizona Sen. John McCain and now president-elect Barack Obama.
“I’m really, really excited for Obama to win,” Kiskis said.
The 31st Senate District includes all of Cumberland County.
