The Strange Saga of Otto Voit

voit-trumpWith just about an hour to go before the polls closed, Pat Toomey cast his ballot.

He went out to the waiting members of the press and finally announced that he voted for Donald Trump.

The incumbent Senator had agonized over this decision and polls had him down coming into the final stretch.

On the other hand, Otto Voit practically lept into Donald Trump’s arms.

When the GOP presidential nominee came to the Keystone State, Voit was there to greet him and pump up his crowds. He even led chants of “Lock Her Up!”.

So on the morning of November 9th, after Trump had turned the commonwealth red, it was revealed that…Pat Toomey won and Otto Voit lost.

Toomey actually received 334,680 more votes than Voit. In fact, the GOP nominee for State Treasurer got the fewest votes of any statewide candidate on Tuesday.

While we’re still figuring out the Trump coalition, one surprising revelation appears to be that he didn’t have coattails. Many Pennsylvanians cast Trump-Toomey-Shapiro-Torsella ballots.

How to explain that? We’ll just have to ask.

18 Responses

  1. To clarify—what I meant was that the D row officers vastly outperformed the top of the ticket in the west. Dem voters cast the votes I mentioned..I wasn’t referring to the western county results. I was referring to the voting patterns of D voters.

  2. All over the west, the vote was Trump, Toomey, and then the 3 Dem row officers. I’m not sure what that is about, other than Ds voting for Trump, and then coming home to their party for the state races. A bit of Democratic guilt for casting the Trump vote.

  3. Come on folks, thousands and thousands of descendants of 18th and 19th century German speaking immigrants live in Berks County and “Rat” it’s “bank” not “bong”!!

  4. I have always been extremely leery of the ‘coattails’ scenario. While I suppose there is data backing its existence (or hope there is, for all the press it gets), it seems counter to actual human behavior.

    Folks who pull straight ticket do so, regardless who is on that ticket. Folks who don’t vote for the candidate they prefer.

    Voit’s loss doesn’t show lack of coattails any more than Sue Helm and Lou Barletta’s wins show their existence…even as all three stood side by side for Trump.

    I would doubt that enough folks voted Trump-Toomey-Shapiro-Torsella to effect the results. I can’t imagine pulling that schizoid ballot.

  5. Rob Gleason is inept at winning statewide elections that is why…. Let’s be honest, Gleason didn’t ‘deliver PA for Trump’ PA was demographically gifted to him. I’m scratching my head for the last statewide row office or judicial race that Gleason and the boys pulled off…..crickets.

  6. Otto was like McGinty in that he was a boring partisan where Torsella was differnt. He was a fresh face and positive representing hope for Dems. In fact, a guy like Torsella may have defeated Toomey had the DSCC got behind him instead of the insider McGinty. We will never know.

  7. If you look at Erie County results they most closely mirror the state in all the state-wide races, even the ballot question.

  8. Hmmmm…Trump and Toomey won, but the Democratic men all won their races. I wonder what’s the difference. I just can’t put my finger on it.

  9. i actually think that torsella won because he’s a decent guy with a good record who’s done some good things. he ran good ads, was low key and professional without mudslinging from the numerous swamps like mc G and toomey were doing. who knew anything good about otto voigt, except that he campaigned on locking her up….?

  10. I think Diano was right–working class Dems voted Trump and D row officers. What really stands out is the anti McGinty vote from them. Saw right through her I guess. Maybe it was Fetterman’s year?

  11. Ist das nicht ein schnitzel bong? Ya, das ist ein schnitzel bong. We already own the new guy so why take a chance?

  12. Torsella drew votes from historically democratic areas that turned red in the presidential race. Nobody remembered Otto from the Trump rallies, nor cared.

  13. Except for Shapiro, they voted a straight “T” ticket. No surprise there. Many of them did not know how to spell Trump, but they were smart enough to know it started with “T”. So they just voted for every name that began with “T”.

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