Still behind Specter, Pa. Dems await ‘spirited primary’

Now that Pennsylvania Democrats are confronting the prospect of a truly competitive Senate primary, things just got more difficult for Gov. Ed Rendell and his newly-Democratic friend Senator Arlen Specter.

But party leaders say they’re not panicking, even as they continued their implied support for Specter.

“Everybody’s going to look forward to a very spirited primary next year,” Abe Amoros, the party’s political director, told pa2010.com Wednesday evening.

“The party has made its position clear that Senator Specter is the incumbent senator,” Amoros added. “Gov. Rendell supports him 100 percent, President Obama and Vice President Biden support him 100 percent.”

State party chairman T.J. Rooney sounded the same note of calm in a brief interview Wednesday evening, though he revealed a bit more concern at the prospect of a primary that has the potential of turning into an intra-party brawl. Progressive activists and some rank-and-file members have been far cooler to Specter than Rendell and party leaders.

“If Congressman Sestak were to choose to enter the race, it would cause Senator Specter to have to expend resources in a primary contest,” Rooney said. “We would certainly prefer not to have a primary contest, but what any candidate chooses to do is his decision.”