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A Democratic primary field… reshuffled and then some

The Democratic primary for Senate was looking so simple. Candidates were hesitant to jump in, afraid of facing Senator Arlen Specter in the general election. It was a mostly level playing filed, at least financially.

No more.

Specter’s decision to switch parties are run for reelection as a Democrat has turned the entire political landscape upside down. Nowhere is this more clear than in the Democratic primary field itself.

Joe Torsella, who has been raising money at an impressive clip, now faces an opponent with exponentially more money and name recognition. House Democrats who were considering the race may be even more hesitant. And Specter gets to sit back and soak up the love that senior Democratic figures, from President Obama on down, are giving him,

David Dunphy, a longtime Democratic political consultant in Philadelphia, said Specter stood a good chance of winning the primary as a Democrat.

“He was reading the same polls everyone else was,” Dunphy told pa2010.com.

He said Specter’s decision would give other Democrats pause before entering the race.

“Now you’re looking at a Democratic primary where you have to run against someone with $6 million in the bank and tremendous name recognition,” he said.

“I think it says a lot more about where the Republican Oarty is now than it says about Arlen Specter,” Dunphy added.

April 28, 2009 at 1:20 pm

--Dan Hirschhorn

Tags: Arlen Specter, Joe Torsella

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