Allentown, Pa. – The Toomey campaign team continues to buzz, and even this early in the press area of tonight’s ballroom, there’s a feeling of high expectation. Battle ‘10 caught up with Mark Harris, campaign manager for Toomey, to get a sense of turnout and expectations.
“Right now we’re feeling great,” Harris told Battle ‘10. “We’ve got great turnout numbers, some of the key Republican precincts in the suburbs, and in the country are turning out already over 50 percent, some of them will approach 65 or 70 percent, we think.”
“So, [it’s] very encouraging. All across the state we’re seeing just a huge number of people coming out to vote for Pat Toomey. The next three hours will be crucial, [as] we need to get all the rest of our voters out to vote. But the way things are going we feel like tonight should go really well.”
Harris elaborated to Philadelphia’s KYW News Radio that they were seeing “great numbers out of northeast and south Philadelphia” and expected turnout “10 to 15 points higher than it was in the 2006 election,” which Harris predicted could put the race in a “very good place” for Toomey.
In the final two hours before polls close, the strategy is simple, Harris told Battle ‘10.
“Traditionally the thought has always been that more Republicans vote at the end of the day,” Harris explained, but emphasized, “I think the key thing to watch will be the bedroom suburban communities in the Philadelphia suburbs where folks will have gone in to work early, maybe before the polls were open, they’re coming home now, they’re voting.”
“So we’ve got to get out and encourage them now,” reiterated Harris.
At the moment, Toomey is at home with his family, wrapping up a few media obligations, and is not expected to show here in the ballroom until results are certain.