Arlen Specter Campaign Update

By ARLEN SPECTER FOR SENATE

Welcome to the first edition of the Specter 2010 campaign update. Last week was an exciting one as Senator Specter met with hundreds of Party leaders across nine counties to talk about their shared Democratic values.

1. “Sen. Specter always gathered support in the county,” said Greg Leathers, chairman of the Greene County Democratic Committee. “He has been a friend of labor and the AFL-CIO.” Leathers added that a challenger would have a hard time establishing the legitimacy and credibility that comes with a 29-year incumbent, and the senator’s chances of re-election are good.
-The Herald Standard, 7/4/09

Senator Specter concluded another successful tour through central and western Pennsylvania last week, visiting with grassroots Democrats in nine counties. Click here to read about his visit with Adams County Democrats and click here to read more about his visit with Greene County Democrats.

2. Rep. Joe Sestak called himself the only “true Democrat” in Pennsylvania’s 2010 U.S. Senate race during a visit to Northampton County this afternoon.
-The Express Times, 7/5/09

That’s ironic, since Sestak has only been a Democrat since 2006.

According to records on file at the Delaware County Voter Registration office, Sestak did not register as a Democrat until February 2006. (Prior to that, he had been a lifelong Independent.) He announced his campaign for Congress, as a Democrat, in March 2006.

3. “I am going to get into the race against Arlen Specter… for senator,” said Sestak in his first media interview as part of a three-week tour through all of the Commonwealth’s 67 counties. The statement, made early in the 45-minute interview, was point blank with no follow-up qualms or hesitancy.
-The Wayne Independent, 7/1/09

But then later in the day a Sestak spokesman backed away from his boss’s comments, saying there had been no announcement about a campaign against Specter. Sestak has “kind of” announced several times in the past four weeks, sparking confusion among state political leaders. And as one reporter noted, “If this keeps up much longer, no one is actually going TO CARE whether Sestak gets into the race or not.”

4. “I do not take the nomination for granted and am happy to learn from these experienced Democratic leaders.”
-Senator Arlen Specter, 6/15/09

As Senator Specter has criss-crossed the state meeting with local Democrats, he has assembled a team of experienced Democratic grass roots leaders to serve on his Statewide Advisory Committee. If you’d like to join the Committee and help the Senator’s campaign, please contact us at Advisory@Specter2010.com

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