Conservative Pat Toomey woos moderates in Senate campaign

In a May 2009 op-ed piece in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Toomey argued for tolerance among Republicans on party members' abortion views. He outlined a vision of a GOP with room for vigorous debate on how to achieve the "unifying idea" of individual freedom and limited government, but "I would certainly not suggest that those who disagree with the pro-life position be banished from the Republican tent."

Last summer, in an Inquirer opinion piece, Toomey argued that Sotomayor, Obama's first nominee for the Supreme Court, should be confirmed because, he said, she was "mainstream" in her legal thinking.

"When a president of one party is elected, the proper role of the opposing party is not to go on politically charged ideological campaigns against judicial nominees," Toomey wrote. "It should be limited to determining whether a nominee is well-qualified and within the legal mainstream."

Still, after Toomey's entrance into the GOP primary drove Specter from the party, some moderate Republicans actively tried to recruit alternative candidates, including former Gov. Tom Ridge. They feared that Toomey could be cast as too conservative. Ridge and others, however, declined to run.

That kind of nervousness has long since disappeared among GOP leaders.

"I think Pat has done a good job of bringing the party together, particularly around fiscal issues," said State Rep. Dave Reed (R., Indiana), head of the state House Republican Campaign Committee. "Back in 2004, when Pat first ran for Senate, the economy was churning along, there were surpluses, some of his economic views were more out of the mainstream. Now, he's right where America is."