PITTSBURGH — Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey endorsed Democrat Barack Obama on Friday, a move that could help the presidential candidate make inroads with white working-class voters dubbed “Casey Democrats” in the Keystone State.
Appearing on stage beside the Illinois senator, Mr. Casey told a boisterous rally, “I believe in my heart that there is one person who's uniquely qualified to lead us in that new direction and that is Barack Obama.”
Pennsylvania's April 22 primary will allocate 158 delegates, the biggest single prize left in the drawn-out nomination battle between Mr. Obama and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York. Ms. Clinton is leading Mr. Obama in the state, by 12 points in one poll this month.
Mr. Casey is a first-term senator and the son of a popular former governor of the state. Casey is Catholic and, like his father, is known for his opposition to abortion and support of gun rights. His support could help Mr. Obama make inroads among Catholic voters, who have preferred Ms. Clinton to Mr. Obama in earlier primaries and strongly favour her in Pennsylvania polls.
Democratic Presidential hopeful Barack Obama gets the endorsement of Pennsylvania State Senator Bob Casey on Friday at the Soldiers and Sailors Military Museum and Memorial in Pittsburgh. (AFP/Getty Images)
“I really believe that in a time of danger around the world and in division here at home, Barack Obama can lead us, he can heal us, he can help rebuild America,” he said.
Mr. Casey said that he called Ms. Clinton Thursday night to tell her of his decision.
“She was very gracious. We know that she's a great senator, she's a great leader,” Mr. Casey said.
The Casey endorsement came as Mr. Obama began a six-day campaign swing through Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania has an estimated 3.8 million Catholics, or just over 30 per cent of the state's population, and the percentage among Democrats is estimated to be slightly higher.
Mr. Obama's team hopes that Mr. Casey will help narrow Ms. Clinton's huge lead among white working-class voters — men in particular. Ms. Clinton routed Mr. Obama among that demographic in Ohio and Texas on March 4, raising questions about his electability in November. In recent weeks, Mr. Obama has stressed economic issues important to the middle class, and he is outspending Ms. Clinton on television advertising that features blue-collar imagery.
Ms. Clinton and her supporters have been making their own direct appeals: backers Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., last week wrote a letter to Pennsylvania Catholics emphasizing her plans on health care, mortgage foreclosures and fuel costs. Ms. Clinton has been endorsed by Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, giving her access to his potent political operation.
Mr. Obama has lacked a major endorsement by a statewide Pennsylvania politician, and Mr. Casey's could help jump-start his Pennsylvania campaign. Mr. Casey has close ties to organized labour, which has been divided in Pennsylvania between the two candidates.
Mr. Casey had a 62 per cent approval rating among Democrats in a recent Quinnipiac University poll.
Mr. Casey's move could also be seen as a political jab at the Clintons. Bill Clinton was the Democrats' presidential nominee in 1992 when Mr. Casey's father was not given a prime-time speaking position at the party's convention, which outraged many of the state's conservative Democrats.
Mr. Casey was to campaign with Mr. Obama as he travels across Pennsylvania by bus.
The bus tour will feature “listening sessions,” a technique Ms. Clinton used in her 2000 Senate campaign to convince skeptical New Yorkers that she was not just a carpetbagger looking for a plum post after leaving the White House.
Mr. Obama hopes to prevent Ms. Clinton from racking up a large win in the state which could eat away at his delegate advantage and give her new life in the final primaries running to June.
It may be a tough sell for some in the state, which has a sizable elderly population. In the previous primaries, older Democrats have favoured Ms. Clinton, while younger voters tend toward Mr. Obama.
Mr. Casey served two four-year terms as state auditor general. He lost a 2002 gubernatorial bid in the Democratic primary to Mr. Rendell.
Mr. Casey was elected to the Senate in 2006, defeating conservative GOP incumbent Rick Santorum. Mr. Obama campaigned for Mr. Casey, but so did Ms. Clinton and her husband.
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