Carl Romanelli, the Green Party candidate for the U.S. Senate election, was taken off the ballot last week after a state judge ruled there were insufficient signatures on his nominating petition.

Romanelli is appealing the decision, but until the Supreme Court rules on the case, the Senate race has become a showdown between incumbent Senator Rick Santorum and Democratic candidate Bob Casey.

The spokesman for the Penn State College Democrats, Eliot Schmidt (junior-international politics) said students should not be concerned about the loss of environmentally friendly candidate Romanelli.

"First off, the College Democrats have always supported Bob Casey against Rick Santorum," Schmidt said.

Casey supports a real energy plan that focuses on environmental conservation, alternative fuel sources and renewable power, Schmidt said.

"Casey is for energy independence but he is also against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which is also an important issue for environmentally sensitive voters," he said.

The College Republicans were unable to be reached for comment by press time.

Not only was Romanelli the only Green Party member in the running for Senator, but he was also the only candidate who was pro-choice, causing concern for some student groups on campus.

"Having a candidate on the ballot who is pro-choice is extremely beneficial to all women," said Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance President Caitlin Corr (junior-labor and industrial relations).

Corr said having two candidates on a ballot who are pro-life, especially when one of them is a Democrat, is extremely astounding for women who are pro-choice.

"If you don't have a democratic candidate standing for principles of the Democratic Party, then how are we supposed to vote?" she asked. "It's a lose-lose situation because you can't vote in good conscience if a Democratic candidate is pro-life."

Students For Life President Ryan Kasun said he disagreed that Casey and Santorum's similar stance on abortion will be a disadvantage to voters.

"Casey is not as strong in his pro-life stance [as Santorum]," he said in an e-mail message. "Casey will still follow Democratic Party lines when voting, and may do so if issues of pro- vs. anti-life arise."

Schmidt added that although Casey is not considered a "pro-choice" candidate, he supports funding for family planning as a way to reduce unintended pregnancies and the availability of the emergency contraceptive pill.

The Associated Press reported earlier this week that Santorum had backed Romanelli's bid prior to his removal because he hoped Romanelli would draw votes from Casey.

But Santorum's press secretary Virginia Davis said that is not the case.

The senator believed it was important to have Romanelli's name on the ballot because he demonstrated interest on speaking out on issues and debating the issues, in contrast to Casey, Davis said.

Davis blames Casey for Romanelli's removal.

"Rather than focus on the issues, Casey and his crew spent weeks stifling democracy and disenfranchising the tens of thousands of voters who signed Green Party petitions," she said. "Finally there was someone on the ballot who would actually show up for debates and it was very telling of how far Casey would go to silence this voice."

While Davis places the blame on Casey, Schmidt argues another case.

"The Democratic Party is a big tent and welcomes Green Party members and encourages them to vote for Bob Casey," Schmidt said.