Republican Dick Thornburgh, the U.S. attorney general and former governor, began the race with a 44-point lead in the polls, but Mr. Wofford prevailed. He won by tapping into the anger that many in Pennsylvania felt about politicians in Washington during a recessionary time, Carville said. “Harris Wofford, the most unlikely insurgent in the world, became the insurgent," Carville said. “The country was looking for something else.”