As Pennsylvanians prepare for the final stretch before the U.S. Senate primary election, establishment Democrats are desperately attempting to drag U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA) over the finish line for fear that his challenger, U.S. Representative Joe Sestak (D-PA) is simply too liberal to win in the General Election.
According to a new Morning Call/Muhlenberg College tracking poll today, Specter and Sestak are “in a statistical dead heat” in advance of the May 18, 2010 primary, each garnering 43 percent.
Both Democrats have aimed furious attack ads at one another in the final weeks of the primary, and Washington Democrats have come to Specter’s rescue with critical financial resources. This funding comes after the White House allegedly made Sestak an offer to serve in the Obama Administration if he would drop out of the race against Specter.
So why are the Democrats so desperate to kick Sestak out of the primary?
As the Pennsylvania Democrat State Chairman explained this week, a potential Sestak victory would be “cataclysmic” for his party’s chances against fiscally responsible former U.S. Representative Pat Toomey (R-PA) this November.
As Politico reported:
The chairman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party issued a severe warning to members of his party this week, declaring that nominating Rep. Joe Sestak over Sen. Arlen Specter could have “cataclysmic” consequences for the Senate campaign this fall.
As polls show Sestak, a second-term House member, cutting Specter’s advantage to single digits, Chairman T.J. Rooney told POLITICO in an interview that “if we want to keep this seat in Democratic hands, the only person capable of delivering that victory is Arlen Specter.”
“I can’t say, honest and true, if the shoe’s on the other foot, that we’ll have the same race in November,” Rooney said. “The results could be cataclysmic.”
“As the liberal activists champion Joe Sestak and the establishment rallies behind Arlen Specter, Democrats are rightfully nervous about the deep divisions in Pennsylvania’s brutal Senate primary battle,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokeswoman Amber Marchand. “Given the choice between extremist Joe Sestak or principle-less Arlen Specter, we’re confident that Keystone State voters will elect a commonsense leader in Pat Toomey this November.”
