Well, now even after his coronation by the Pennsylvania Democratic leadership it appears as if the voters of Pennsylvania, especially the Democratic ones are not as inspired by the Republican Specter running in their primary because he could not win his. As reported over at Politico:
28 percent.
That's the (surprisingly low) percentage of Pennsylvania voters who believe that party-switching Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) deserves re-election, according to a new Franklin and Marshall poll.
And it explains why Rep. Joe Sestak is preparing to challenge Specter in a Democratic primary, and why Republicans are a bit more confident of their chances in winning the Senate seat next November.
The poll shows Specter is still facing a serious political challenge, as he seeks a sixth term as a Democrat -- and that his actions in the first several months haven't won over a majority of Pennsylvania Democrats. A strong 57 percent majority of respondents said that "it's time for a change" and that Specter hasn't won their support.
Only 43 percent of Democrats said Specter deserves re-election, with 39 percent arguing it's time for a change.
Specter's approval rating dropped 18 points in the last two months from 52 to 34 percent. Among Democrats, he only holds a 46 percent approval rating -- hardly gangbusters in a contested primary.
Most Democrats surveyed are undecided about the primary. Only one-third (33 percent) of Democratic voters said they're voting for Specter, 13 percent are backing Sestak, with the majority (48 percent) saying they're undecided.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/...
This should leave the door wide open for Joe Sestak to make a run at this primary. Despite what the governor of that state had to say he has an excellent chance of upending Specter. Specter has high name recognition, but Sestak does have a campaign account with plenty of greenbacks to make himself known to voters. Although Specter is leading in the money race against Sestak, a second front was opened in the campaign against Specter by those contributors who feel jilted by his sudden switch of parties to try and get re-elected:
The anti-tax Club for Growth is preparing a campaign designed to drain cash from party-switching Sen. Arlen Specter's (D-Pa.) campaign coffers, and is awaiting approval from the Federal Election Commission to follow through with their plan.
The group's political action committee wants to contact donors who have recently given money to Specter's reelection campaign and let them know they can request a refund of their money. After he switched parties, Specter promised he would return campaign contributions to those who requested it.
"Senator Specter agreed to return the contributions he received before switching parties, and we want to help him make good on that commitment," Club President Chris Chocola said. "It's easy to request a refund with a preprinted letter and envelope, and I expect a lot of people will want their money back."
http://www.politico.com/news/s...
I hope this news shows Democrats that Arlen Specter is simply not the solution we need running for this seat. Ultimately it will be up to Democrats in Pennsylvania to decide, but judging by this poll he is not exactly setting them, or any voters in that state on fire. When you add the extra baggage of possibly having to give back millions of dollars to donors who feel betrayed, old Arlen is definately looking like damaged goods.
Why risk losing this seat?? In my opinion with Specter running as a Democrat we will lose the seat to a Republican either way. The best bet in this race is for Democrats nationwide to support Joe Sestak or another viable Democrat that may emerge because of these numbers. Personally, I will send a donation to Sestak as soon as a Senate ActBlue site is up for him after he announces. I hope many Democrats will join me.
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