Specter’s daughter-in-law resigning GOP committee post to help his Dem campaign

Senator Arlen Specter’s daughter-in-law Tracey announced Tuesday that she was stepping down as chair of a suburban Philadelphia GOP committee to help him pursue the Democratic nomination for Senate, even as she promised to remain an “active Republican.”

Specter told the Republican Committee of Lower Merion and Narberth in an e-mail Tuesday morning that vice chair Jim Clark would serve out her term. But other than acknowledging that she would work for her father-in-law, who switched parties earlier this year, she did not address the political awkwardness of the situation, something each member of Senator Specter’s political orbit has handled in his or her own way over the last several months.

Tracey Specter is married to the senator’s son Shanin, who has been one of his father’s closest political advisers.

“It has been an honor serving as your Chair,” Specter wrote in her e-mail. “I enjoyed every moment, and I will miss working with each of you.”