It turns out that former Rep. Pat Toomey (R-PA), whose Republican primary challenge against Sen. Arlen Specter had built up such a lead in the polls that Specter switched to the Democrats, has had a pretty good time fundraising.
The Toomey camp has announced that it raised over $500,000 in the time since Toomey got into the race on April 15. Dave Weigel also reports that the campaign says donations surged on the day of Specter’s switch a week ago.
The takeaway here is that Toomey has already gained significant support from grassroots conservative voters and activists in Pennsylvania. So if the national party wants to get another candidate who is viewed as more electable, such as former Gov. Tom Ridge or Rep. Jim Gerlach, that new player could face their own set of difficulties in the primary.
