8/9/2004, 5:27 p.m. ET
By LARA JAKES JORDAN
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Constitution Party national chairman Jim Clymer qualified for the U.S. Senate ballot on Monday, putting Pennsylvania's senior senator in a squeeze play between opponents on both sides of the political spectrum.
Opponents of Clymer, a conservative attorney from Lancaster, did not challenge his petitions for a ballot spot before the Commonwealth Court's 4 p.m. deadline Monday. He will face Republican incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter and Democratic challenger Rep. Joe Hoeffel in the Nov. 2 election.
"The bottom line is, simply, that the views of the majority of Pennsylvanians are not represented by either of the major-party candidates," Clymer said late Monday afternoon. "I feel the need to fill that void. So I'm here to give the people of Pennsylvania a choice other than the two liberal candidates that are running."
Specter, a moderate Republican, barely survived a primary challenge this spring by conservative Rep. Pat Toomey. He won by 12,603 votes — the closest challenge of his four-term Senate career. Democratic voters, meanwhile, outnumber Republicans in Pennsylvania by more than 443,000 ballots.
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http://www.pennlive.com/newsflash/pa/index.ssf?/base/politics-0/1092077651224130.xml&storylist=penn