2002 PA Governor Primary

The Primary, fought on geographic lines—Rendell was from Philadelphia and Casey from Lackawanna—was also fought on ideological lines, with Casey (Like his father before him) being a Social conservative while Rendell was a Social Liberala

In addition to the Social Dynamic, Casey also called into question Rendell's skills as an executive—criticizing Rendell for failing to save Pennsylvania's public school system as Rendell had claimed throughout the campaign, while having the NRA play ads for him touting him as a pro-gun democrat.

However, it is likely that Rendell benefited from a Republicans for Rendell campaign, as socially liberal Republicans from the traditionally GOP Collar counties voted En Masse for him in the democratic primary, likely due to a combination of the lack of a GOP primary and Rendell's social liberalism.

In the end, this would constitute Bob Casey's career's only defeat, saying that like his father before him—who lost three Democratic Gubernatorial primaries before winning in 1986—he would continue to work for and love the Comonwealth