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![]() County results Wofford: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Thornburgh: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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Elections in Pennsylvania |
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The 1991 United States Senate special election in Pennsylvania was held on November 5, 1991, after incumbent Republican Senator John Heinz died in a plane crash on April 4 of that year. Democrat Harris Wofford was appointed to the seat by Governor Bob Casey, and won the general election in a landslide over Republican Dick Thornburgh, a former Governor and U.S. Attorney General. Wofford became Pennsylvania's first Democratic Senator since Joseph S. Clark, Jr. left office in 1969. Major-party candidates for this election were chosen by party committees, as the vacancy had happened too late for a primary to be held.
This was the first time a Democrat won this seat since 1940.