Woman Uses Thomas Hearings Issue to Score Stunning Upset

A political newcomer who fueled her longshot bid for office on anger stemming from the sexual harassment charges against Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas won the Democratic Senate nomination Tuesday in Pennsylvania.

Lynn Yeakel, 50, became the second woman his year to use the issue to upset a better-known male political veteran, defeating Lt. Gov. Mark Singel.

“Somebody said it couldn’t be done. In fact, lots of people said it couldn’t be done,” Yeakel told cheering supporters here Tuesday night. “And we did it.”

Just a few weeks ago, polls showed her with only single-digit support. With 94% of the ballots counted Tuesday night, Yeakel led Singel, 44% to 33%, with three other candidates splitting the rest of the vote.

Her victory set up a November confrontation with Republican Sen. Arlen Specter, 62, who sparked controversy with his harsh questioning of law professor Anita Faye Hill during last fall’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearings into the Thomas nomination. Hill accused Thomas of sexually harassing her several years earlier; Thomas’ defenders, including Specter, sought to discredit her.

The Senate ultimately confirmed Thomas on a close vote.

A Yeakel television commercial that ran frequently in recent weeks opened with film of Specter questioning Hill. In the ad, Yeakel asked voters: “Did this make you as angry as it did me?”

The ad propelled Yeakel, co-founder of a nonprofit group that raises money for women’s charities, from anonymity to victory.

Yeakel’s victory resembled last month’s triumph of Carol Moseley Braun, who defeated incumbent Sen. Alan J. Dixon in Illinois’ Democratic primary. Braun ran because of her anger over the Thomas hearings, and she repeatedly referred to the issue.