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Tom Smith (Pennsylvania)
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This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates. |
Tom Smith was a 2012 Republican candidate who sought election to the U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania. He lost in the general election.[1]
Biography
Smith was raised on a farm in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. In 1965, he graduated from Elderton High School and began two jobs, working on his family farm and driving a school bus. Smith originally intended to go back to school to earn a degree, but he ended up starting a family and his focus shifted to providing for them, which he did through the surface coal industry. Smith started several companies in 1989 that grew to mine over a million tons of coal annually. He sold the businesses in 2010.[2]
Issues
2012 Senate Race Polls
| Pennsylvania's Senate Election, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Bob Casey (D) | Tom Smith (R) | Undecided | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||||||||
| Public Policy Polling (October 12-14, 2012) | 50% | 39% | 11% | +/-4.4 | 500 | ||||||||||||||
| The Morning Call/Muhlenberg College (October 10-14, 2012) | 41% | 39% | 18% | +/-5.0 | 438 | ||||||||||||||
| Susquehanna Poll October 4-6, 2012) | 46% | 44% | 9% | +/-3.7 | 725 | ||||||||||||||
| Siena College Research Institute Poll (October 1-5, 2012) | 44% | 35% | 16% | +/-4.2 | 545 | ||||||||||||||
| Quinnipiac University Poll September 18-24 | 49% | 43% | 8% | +/-2.9 | 1,180 | ||||||||||||||
| Rasmussen Reports Poll (September 29, 2012) | 49% | 42% | 7% | +/-4.5 | 500 | ||||||||||||||
| Franklin & Marshall College Poll (August 7-12, 2012) | 35% | 23% | 39% | +/-3.8 | 681 | ||||||||||||||
| Quinnipiac University Poll (July 24-30, 2012) | 55% | 37% | 8% | +/-2.9 | 1,168 | ||||||||||||||
| Public Policy Polling (July 21-23, 2012) | 46% | 36% | 18% | +/-3.56 | 758 | ||||||||||||||
| Rasmussen Reports Poll (July 18, 2012) | 49% | 38% | 9% | +/-4.5 | 500 | ||||||||||||||
| AVERAGES | 46.4% | 37.6% | 14.3% | +/-3.95 | 699.5 | ||||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Ads
|
"Big Dreams" |
"Where I Stand" |
"The Smith Plan" |
Elections
2012
Smith ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. Senate, representing Pennsylvania. He won the April 24, 2012, Republican primary and faced incumbent Bob Casey, Jr. (D) and Libertarian Rayburn Smith in the general election on November 6, 2012.[3][4] Casey won.[1]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Bob Casey Jr. Incumbent |
53.7% | 3,021,364 | |
| Republican | Tom Smith | 44.6% | 2,509,132 | |
| Libertarian | Rayburn Douglas Smith | 1.7% | 96,926 | |
| Total Votes | 5,627,422 | |||
| Source: Pennsylvania Department of State | ||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Tom Smith |
39.5% | 299,726 |
| Sam Rohrer | 22.3% | 169,118 |
| John Marc Scaringi | 6.8% | 51,908 |
| David Christian | 10.5% | 79,581 |
| Steve Welch | 20.9% | 158,181 |
| Total Votes | 758,514 | |
Endorsements
Smith's 2012 bid for Senate was endorsed by numerous individuals and organizations, including The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and Governor Tom Ridge.[5]
Campaign themes
2012
Smith outlined his priorities for the office on his official campaign website. Themes included:
- Simplify the tax code and close special interest loopholes
Excerpt: "A flat tax will contribute to increased economic growth while producing fairness by treating all taxpayers equally."[6]
- End "out-of control federal spending"
Smith wants to reduce annual spending to 20% of GDP so funds can instead go to private sector investment. "Leaving those dollars in the free market economy provides additional resources for growth and job creation."[6]
- Regulation
Smith plans to "end oppressive regulation" by repealing financial laws like Dodd-Frank and Sarbanes-Oxley, imposing a spending cap on regulations within government agencies, and "pass legislation such as the REINS Act, which would require Congressional approval for new regulatory rules having in excess of $100 million of annual economic impact."[6]
- Energize our future
Excerpt: "Many energy-rich areas within the U.S. are currently off-limits to energy exploration because of government restrictions, or delayed by slow administrative approvals. By ending these restrictions and fully utilizing all of our proven reserves, we can move to becoming energy independent and no longer rely on energy from volatile areas of the world."[6]
- Health care
Smith's plan to improve the health care system and save social security involves eight steps, including repealing Obamacare, eliminating restrictions on buying private insurance from companies outside your state of residency, promoting tax equality for healthcare consumers, and raising the retirement age.[6]
Campaign finance summary
Ballotpedia currently provides campaign finance data for all federal- and state-level candidates from 2020 and later. We are continuously working to expand our data to include prior elections. That information will be published here as we acquire it. If you would like to help us provide this data, please consider donating to Ballotpedia.
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Smith resides in his native Armstrong County with his wife Saundy, who is retired from her career as a public school teacher. The couple has seven children and eight grandchildren. Smith is a member of Mt. Union Lutheran Church.[2]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Tom + Smith + Pennsylvania + Senate
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 CNN "Pennsylvania Senate Race - 2012 Election Center"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Tom Smith for Senate on Facebook, "About Tom Smith," accessed October 16, 2012
- ↑ Pennsylvania Independent, "Incumbents fall in PA House, congressional races," April 24, 2012
- ↑ PA Department of State 2012 Official Primary Results
- ↑ Tom Smith for Senate News, "Governor Tom Ridge endorses Tom Smith," accessed October 16, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Tom Smith Official Campaign Website, "Issues," accessed October 16, 2012
