Kane becomes first woman and first Democrat to be elected state attorney general

Story posted November 7, 2012 in Election 2012 by By Kayla Montoro and Breanne Pfeffer

By Kayla Montoro and Breanne Pfeffer

 

 

Kathleen Kane on Tuesday became the first female and first Democrat ever to be elected attorney general in Pennsylvania -- since the state began electing attorneys general in 1980.

 

Kane won by a landslide against Republican candidate David Freed, beating him by almost 20 percent, as of late Tuesday night.

 

Kane’s platform included issues such as protecting rights of senior citizens, protecting residents from violent crime and preserving the environment. She also specialized in handling sex crimes as an assistant district attorney for Lackawanna County.

 

Her opponent, David Freed, is the district attorney of Cumberland County.

 

In the campaign’s closing weeks, a big issue in the race was the attorney general office’s handling of the Jerry Sandusky investigation, which began when Gov. Tom Corbett was attorney general.

 

“I just know that Tom Corbett endorsed David Freed, so there was no chance he was getting my vote,” said Matt Strohmier,  a senior broadcast journalism major.

 

 

Kane said she intends to investigate Corbett’s part in the Sandusky matter.

 

Marcie Lynch, from Spring Mills, Pa., said she voted for Freed because he was the better qualified candidate. She said nothing from the Sandusky scandal affected her vote.

 

She said she voted for Freed “because of his work experience” and she “just never really got a good vibe from [Kane].”

 

Charles Dumas, a Penn State professor who lost his own race on Tuesday, challenging incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, said Kane is the most confident candidate to run for attorney general in his lifetime. He said her views on the Sandusky scandal was a part of the reason he voted for her.

 

“I think it’s about time we had a woman as an attorney general,” Dumas said. “I think it’s about time we had a Democrat. I think it’s important we have a Democrat, especially when we have a Republican governor who was involved in a whole lot of stuff that should be looked at.”

 

In other statewide races, incumbent Democrat candidate Rob McCord won reelection as state treasurer against Republican candidate Diana Vaughan, and Democratic state Rep. Eugene DePasquale defeated Republican state Rep. John Maher in the race for state auditor general.