Hoeffel touts himself as the "only truly pro-choice candidate in the race."
Two of his opponents, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato and state Auditor General Jack Wagner, oppose abortion. Onorato made a point during his October campaign launch in City Hall to say that he would not act to change the state's abortion laws.
Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty, long silent on the issue, declared himself pro-choice in September. Abortion opponents note that he signed their proclamation in 2003, declaring "Pennsylvanians for Human Life Day" in his city.
State Attorney General Tom Corbett, the Republican front-runner for governor, is facing a challenge from state Rep. Sam Rohrer, who is casting himself as the true conservative in that race. Both are anti-abortion.
Hoeffel rejects the notion that his election strategy is situated on the other end of the political spectrum from Rohrer.
In a clear bid for moderate voters, Hoeffel notes that he has worked cooperatively in the past year with Montgomery County Commission Chairman Jim Matthews, a Republican.
Hoeffel served as a Montgomery County Commissioner in the 1990s until he was elected in 1998 to Congress from the 13th District, which covers about half of Montgomery County and a section of Northeast Philadelphia down to Allegheny Avenue. He served three terms in the U.S. House, stepping down in 2004 for an unsuccessful run to oust U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter.
In that race, Hoeffel took a stand that could be seen as principled or exploitative. He was arrested in a protest outside the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, D.C. While the genocide in the Darfur region of that country had made national news, it wasn't on the radar in the Senate race.
