Specter's Fate Hangs On Pennsylvania Primary
Pennsylvania voters are deciding whether to oust Republican-turned Democrat Arlen Specter from the U.S. Senate and settling contested Democratic and Republican nominations for governor in primary races.
Also being closely watched Tuesday is a special election in western Pennsylvania to fill a vacant seat left by the death of U.S. Rep. John Murtha, viewed as a potential bellwether for this year's midterm congressional elections.
Nomination fights in dozens of state legislative and congressional districts also are on the ballot.
A poll released Monday indicated that the Democratic primary showdown between Sen. Specter, who is fighting for his political survival as much as for a sixth six-year term, and U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, a retired Navy vice admiral who questions Specter's party loyalty, remained too close to call.
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The Quinnipiac University poll found that 16 percent of Democrats considered likely to vote were undecided in the Senate race. Both men put in a final day of campaigning in far-flung locations across the state before returning to their home base in the Philadelphia area.
CBS News correspondent Jeff Glor reports that Specter is Pennsyvlania's longest serving senator ever, with 30 years and five election victories to his name. But today's primary may be his toughest challenge yet.
Voters seem fed up with the status quo, and as Sestak staged a late bump in the polls, Specter seemed poised to feel the wrath of a weary public.
"In this election, voters are angry with two things: incumbents and establishment figures, or - within parties - they're angry at members who haven't sufficiently held to the ideals of those parties," said CBS News political analyst John Dickerson of Slate.com.
"Arlen Specter finds a way to offend both of those groups. He switched to being a Democrat after 30 years as being a Republican; and people see him (as Joe Sestak very successfully used this message in one of his ads) that Arlen Specter cares about one job: his own."
The winner of the primary will likely square off in November against former U.S. Rep. Pat Toomey, a conservative who came within about 17,000 votes - out of 1 million cast - of ousting Specter in the 2004 GOP primary. Toomey faces token opposition this year from Johnstown activist Peg Luksik.
The poll showed Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato continuing to lead the four-way race for the Democratic nomination for governor, backed by 39 percent of the Democrats likely to vote. Thirty-one percent remained undecided.
Trailing were state Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams with 11 percent, state Auditor General Jack Wagner, 10 percent, and Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel, 9 percent.
Onorato and GOP front-runner Tom Corbett, both from southwestern Pennsylvania, flew across the state from east to west Monday.
Onorato, who appeared in Scranton, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, said he is counting on strong presence in all 67 counties to turn out his supporters Tuesday in spite of the rain that is forecast across the state.
"I'm excited that we're here," Onorato said in a telephone interview, referring to his lead on the eve of the election.
Corbett, who visited seven cities on a barnstorming tour from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, cautioned supporters not to let his strong polling numbers lull them into complacency. A Quinnipiac poll released last week showed Corbett with a 4-1 lead over his only opponent, state Rep. Sam Rohrer, one of the Legislature's leading conservatives.
"We have to win tomorrow before we fight in November," Corbett reminded nearly 100 people at an outdoor rally on Harrisburg's City Island.
Rain or showers were forecast across the state Tuesday, although at least one political observer said he doubted that it would affect the outcome of the Senate race. Fewer than 40 percent of the 4.3 million Democrats were expected to cast ballots.
"It has to be pretty heavy rain, pretty consistent, to keep people away from voting," said Terry Madonna, a professor and pollster at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster.
In the Quinnipiac poll, 951 Democrats were surveyed by telephone between Wednesday and Sunday. The sampling error margin is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.