A new Franklin and Marshall poll of Pennsylvania has a lot of bad news for Sen. Arlen Specter, with the incumbent Democrat and former Republican viewed unfavorably by his state’s voters and trailing his longtime nemesis, Republican former Rep. Pat Toomey, among the likely general election voters.
Among all registered voters, Specter is viewed favorably by only 32%, with an unfavorable rating of 45%. Only 25% said he deserves re-election, with 63% saying it is time for a change. Among those who say he doesn’t deserve re-election, the most commonly listed reasons are his long time in office, and his party-switch.
The only good news for Specter is in the Democratic primary, in which he leads Rep. Joe Sestak by 33%-16%. But in the general election, the horse-race numbers show just how much the current enthusiasm gap has become destructive for the Democrats. Among all registered voters, Specter leads Toomey by 33%-29%, and Toomey leads Sestak by just 25%-22%, with very high undecideds in both cases. Among the more important category of likely voters, Toomey leads Specter by 44%-34%, and Toomey leads Sestak by 38%-20%.
