PA-Sen: Specter Crushes Toomey as Democrat, but Ridge is Close

[ccharles000]

Quinnipiac University (4/29-5/3, "Pennsylvania voters," no trendlines):

Arlen Specter (D-inc): 53
Pat Toomey (R): 33
Undecided: 10
Arlen Specter (D-inc): 46
Tom Ridge (R): 43
Undecided: 8
(MoE: ±2.9%)

Specter gets an impressive 77-8 approval rating among Democrats, though that may fade as the afterglow wears off. His overall approvals jumped a bit, too, from 45-31 to 52-34. Former Gov. Tom Ridge, though, has an even better 55-19 rating - but if Arlen Specter was hopeless against Pat Toomey in a GOP primary, does the also-moderate Ridge really have a shadow of a chance? Nonetheless, he's apparently considering a run.

On the Democratic side, meanwhile, Rep. Joe Sestak continues to seriously explore a challenge to Specter. Appearing yesterday on CNN, he said of Specter, "I'm not sure he's a Democrat yet," and acted undaunted by Obama's support for party-switchin' Arlen. Sestak's also apparently meeting with SEIU's iconoclastic leader Andy Stern. The labor movement is of course deeply unhappy with a different Specter flip-flop: his shameful decision to abandon the Employee Free Choice Act.

Unsurprisingly, Specter also appeared on the Sunday talk shows, and he just provided the script for Sestak's (or Joe Torsella's, or Patrick Murphy's, etc.) first attack ad. Specter supposedly told Obama over the phone last week that "I'm a loyal Democrat. I support your agenda." But he told David Gregory yesterday:


I did not say I would be a loyal Democrat. I did not say that.
Pennsylvania's Democratic primary, just like the Republican contest, is closed, a fact Arlen already seems to be ignoring.

http://www.swingstateproject.com/diary/4897/pasen-specter-crushes-toomey-as-democrat-but-ridge-is-close

[bigwillq]

1. I disapprove of Specter

no matter what side he is on.

[T Wolf]

2. How anyone who considers themselves a Democrat can support this piece of shit is

unfathomable.

Hopefully, enough Dems in PA will decide that a real Democrat is preferable to the ultimate DINO.

He will never get my vote, no matter who he runs against.

[Drunken Irishman]

3. Yeah.

Hopefully, though, if that happens, it isn't Ridge who wins the GOP nomination, because he'll beat any Democrat not named Specter.

[TwilightZone]

4. If our only options end up being Arlen Specter and Tom Ridge...

I'll take Specter 100 times out of 100.