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| Specter faces hurdles in Democratic re-election |
| 2009-07-07 |
| When Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania suddenly became a Democrat in April, it seemed he had virtually ensured his re-election to a sixth term in 2010. The veteran senator had the backing of President Obama, top state Democratic leaders such as Gov. Edward G. Rendell and Sen. Bob Casey and was all but assured of the Democratic nomination in a state that has been trending heavily Democratic in recent elections. However, a new set of obstacles stands in the way of the senator, who switched parties in the face of polls showing he could not win the Republican Party's renomination. Rep. Joe Sestak, a relatively little-known two-term House Democrat who senses that much of his party's base is uncomfortable with Mr. Specter, confirmed last week, "I am going to get into the race against Arlen Specter." Recent polling shows Democrats cooling toward Mr. Specter's candidacy amid doubts raised by his long history as a Republican warrior who took positions and cast votes sharply at odds with those of his new party. A Franklin & Marshall College Poll (formerly the Keystone Poll) of Pennsylvania voters reported last week that 28 percent said he deserves re-election, down from 40 percent in March. While it showed he was holding on to 43 percent of Democratic voters, just 24 percent of independents and 11 percent of Republicans questioned by the pollsters supported keeping him in office. "In every poll we did asking does he deserve to be re-elected, he seems stuck at about 30 percent support. In other words, he has not been able to establish dominance," said G. Terry Madonna, director of the poll, conducted by Franklin & Marshall's Center for Opinion Research. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 SELF SERVING P.O.S. We can only hope he goes right down the tubes!! |
| Posted by: Jarong de Medici3580 2009-07-07 09:47 |