The 1998 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held November 3, 1998. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Arlen Specter won re-election to a fourth term.
Primary elections were held on May 19, 1998. In the Republican primary, Specter defeated minor challengers from his right. Lloyd won the Democratic primary with a plurality of the vote over Richard J. Cusick and Richard J. Orloski.
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Arlen Specter, incumbent U.S. Senator (1981–present)
Defeated in primary
- Tom Lingenfelter
- Larry Murphy
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Richard J. Cusick, Salisbury Township physician
- William R. Lloyd Jr., state representative from Somerset since 1981
- Richard J. Orloski, Allentown attorney and perennial candidate
Withdrew
- Harry Liller, Pittsburgh activist
General election
Candidates
- Jack Iannantuono (Libertarian)
- William R. Lloyd Jr., state representative from Somerset (Democratic)
- Dean Snyder (Constitution)
- Arlen Specter, incumbent U.S. senator since 1981 (Republican)
Campaign
Leading up to this campaign, the state Democratic Party faced difficulty, as it was plagued by prior corruption allegations of several key legislators and by a lack of fund-raising. Just as in the accompanying gubernatorial race, the party had difficulty in finding a credible candidate. State Representative Bill Lloyd, who was a well-respected party leader but who had little statewide name recognition, was considered by Democratic party leaders to be a sacrificial lamb candidate. Specter ran a straightforward campaign and attempted to avoid mistakes, while Lloyd's bid was so underfunded that he was unable to air a single commercial until two weeks before the election. Lloyd's strategy was to portray Republicans as hyper-partisan in wake of their attempt to impeach President Bill Clinton, but he was unable to gain any traction with his message. On Election Day, Specter's win was by the second-largest margin in the history of Senate elections in Pennsylvania. Lloyd won only two counties: almost uniformly Democratic Philadelphia and his home county, rural and typically Republican Somerset County. As of 2022, this is the last time Allegheny County voted for a Republican Senate candidate.