First and foremost, I want to take this opportunity to thank Senator Reid for allowing me to have a seat at the Candidate's Table on his blog and share some of my thoughts and ideas with you, his online community. Senator Reid has shown unparalleled leadership as Minority Leader in the Senate and I can assure you that I am doing everything I can to make him the Majority Leader in 2007.

As some of you may already be aware, tomorrow is the Democratic primary election in Pennsylvania and, as I'm sure you can imagine, I'm extremely busy aggressively campaigning all over the state, gathering support. It still amazes me that I can make this post while driving in the car.

The Pennsylvania primary election tomorrow mirrors the opportunities we have as Democrats all across the country. 2006 gives us the opportunity to send out a strong message: the values that unite us as Democrats are stronger than anything that might divide us and it's time for a change.

I'm running against Rick Santorum for the U.S. Senate, but this election is also a referendum on President Bush and the Republican leadership in congress. They have led us in the wrong direction and it is time for a change.

It's clear that President Bush is not on the same page with the American people and his best friend in the Senate, Rick Santorum, has led the rubber stamp Republican Congress by voting with President Bush 98% of the time. A friend of mine recently told me that when two people agree 98% of the time, then one of them simply isn't necessary.

As I've traveled across our Commonwealth for the past year, I've had the opportunity to meet thousands of supporters and share my agenda for change. I unveiled a series of initiatives that are real solutions to the serious problems we are facing, including a tough ethics reform plan, a plan to make healthcare more affordable, a plan to spur job growth, and a new focus on national security. Here are some of the specifics:

*Make health insurance more affordable for small businesses

*Raise the minimum wage

*Stop unfair trade laws like the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) that put U.S. workers at a disadvantage and send our jobs overseas

*Provide universal access to pre-kindergarten so children arrive at school ready to learn

*Ban members of Congress from receiving special interest subsidized travel on corporate jets

These are practical, achievable solutions to the problems being ignored by Rick Santorum and the Republican leadership in Washington.

I am grateful for the support and endorsements I have received from individuals and organizations across the Commonwealth - firefighters, teachers and teacher's aides, nurses, retirees and so many others. They do the enduring heroic work of raising families, paying taxes, and building a community, and the people of Pennsylvania deserve a United States Senator fighting for them for a change.

I know tomorrow, the people of Pennsylvania will take a great step forward toward changing the direction of this country. If you are reading this and live in Pennsylvania, I hope that you make a trip to the polls tomorrow.

If you aren't from Pennsylvania then I encourage you to support the Democratic candidates in your local area so we can truly put our nation back on the right track.