The 1991 Pennsylvania Senate race and national health insurance

Voter interest in reform of the American health care system played a central role in the November 5 come-from-behind reelection victory of Democratic Senator Harris Wofford of Pennsylvania over Republican candidate Richard Thornburgh. In a post-election poll of 1,000 Pennsylvania voters, over 50 percent identified "national health insurance" as one of two issues that mattered most in deciding how to vote. And 21 percent of voters said the issue was the "single most important factor" in their voting decision. The results of the Pennsylvania Senate race suggest that universal health care has arrived as a mainstream political issue and that political candidates who fail to address the issue do so at their peril.