Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) and his primary challenger Rep. Joe Sestak both went stumping for votes today in vote-rich Philadelphia — where Specter needs a big turnout and a solid margin in his favor in order to win on Tuesday.
Specter was endorsed by a group of ministers from the Philadelphia Black Clergy. “I’m very grateful for the overwhelming support from the Black Clergy,” said Specter, also adding: “There is no doubt if we turn out our vote, I will be re-elected.”
Specter also rebutted Sestak’s accusation that he only switched parties for opportunistic reasons — citing his vote for the stimulus bill and the damage that it did to him among Republicans, and saying that he could have voted against the stimulus instead. “If I had stayed with the obstructionist Republican caucus, I would have had no problem,” Specter said. “This claim of opportunism is outlandish in the context that I had a clear path to re-election if I had not voted for the stimulus package.”
Also on hand was Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell, an old friend of Specter’s who worked for him years ago when Specter was Philadelphia district attorney, and who helped recruit him into the Democratic Party last year. Rendell took aim at at Sestak’s attack ads against Specter, declaring that “in the presence of clergy I can’t say exactly what I wanted to say.”
Sestak was also making the rounds in Philadelphia, stopping at a local diner to meet voters — and defiantly asking whether Specter will run on his Republican record in a Democratic primary.
Sestak also said: “His time has come and gone and it’s time, I honestly believe, for someone who says look, ‘I’m willing to lose my job over doing what’s right for you.'”
The TPM Poll Average for this primary gives Sestak an edge of 44.3%-43.0%, after steadily picking up undecided voters over the last two and a half months.
