Bob Casey, Jr.

Robert Patrick Casey, Jr., (born April 13, 1960) is an American politician and was elected in 2006 as a Democratic United States Senator from the state of Pennsylvania.

Biography

Casey, one of eight children, was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, of Irish American descent on his father's side. He is the son of Ellen Harding Casey and Bob Casey, the 42nd governor of Pennsylvania. Casey graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 1982, and received a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from the Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America in 1988. Between college and law school, Casey served as a member of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, and spent a year teaching 5th grade and coaching basketball at the Gesu School in inner city Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Casey practiced law in Scranton from 1991 until he ran for and was elected Pennsylvania State Auditor General in 1996. In 2002 he attempted to follow in his father's footsteps by running for Governor, but lost by 12 percentage points in the Democratic primary.

2006 Senate Campaign

Casey was drafted to run for the Senate by DSCC Chairman Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid. He easily won the Democratic primary with 85% of the vote. Then Casey defeated incumbent Republican Senator Rick Santorum with 59% of the vote in the general election.

Political views

Bob Casey is generally known to be a conservative Democrat. Like his father, he is strongly pro-life. Casey's election gives Pennsylvania the distinction of being represented in the Senate by a pro-life Democrat and a pro-choice Republican (Arlen Specter); each holds the position opposite to what is common for their respective national parties. This shows that the Pennsylvania electorate prefers political moderates. However, Casey agrees with liberals on immigration. He supports the Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007 (S. 1348), a bill voted down in the 110th United States Congress, which could have provided a path to legal citizenship for illegal aliens currently residing in the United States".

Criticisms

Rick Santorum and other Republican leaders have criticized Casey as being an "opportunist." Citing that he ran for four different statewide offices in six years. Another issue that Casey has been criticized for is his attendance as Pennsylvania state treasurer (a position he held from 2005-2007). During his first year as a candidate for U.S. Senate, State Treasurer Bob Casey spent half of his work days away from the office, according to an analysis of records provided by his campaign.

External Links

• Official Website