Dems blast Toomey’s silence on jobs bill

Republican Senate candidate Pat Toomey hasn’t yet taken a position on the jobs bill that passed the Senate a couple weeks ago—and Democrats think it’s about time to do so.

Both Senator Arlen Specter and the state Democratic Party criticized Toomey this week for his apparent silence. Specter wrote to Toomey, urging him to “stand up for Pennsylvania’s working families and support this legislation, or explain why you won’t help our economy…

March 11, 2010 at 9:29 am | Comments (10)

Obama’s Pa. trip sparks war of words

President Obama’s trip to Pennsylvania to pitch the Democratic health care plan Monday sparked a political war of words, with the state Republican and Democratic parties facing off over what is the proper prescription to treat the state’s 1.2 million uninsured.

State GOP Chairman Rob Gleason joined Senate hopeful Pat Toomey on a conference call with reporters, during which the Republicans called “ObamaCare” the wrong option for Pennsylvania, saying it costs too…

March 8, 2010 at 6:28 pm | Comments (7)

Specter takes a lead over Toomey in new poll

Senator Arlen Specter is enjoying his first statistically significant lead over Republican Pat Toomey in months, according to a new poll of the high-profile Senate race.

The Quinnipiac University survey released Tuesday showed Specter garnering 49 percent of the general election vote, compared to 42 percent for Toomey. Only eight percent of voters are undecided. Most polls have shown Toomey either tied or ahead of Specter going back to last the fall, even while the…

March 2, 2010 at 9:51 am | Comments (24)

The Democrats’ enthusiasm deficit

This week, pa2010.com reported on a widely-discussed Franklin & Marshall College poll of the Senate race which showed Arlen Specter holding a slightly dwindling, yet still strong 17-point lead over primary challenger Joe Sestak. A second article noted that Republican Pat Toomey holds a significant lead among likely voters in the general election. What it didn’t do is analyze the contrast between the likely voter numbers with those among registered voters—a…

February 26, 2010 at 3:48 pm | Comments (11)

Luksik wants debates with Toomey (Updated)

Republican Senate candidate Peg Luksik on Thursday called for a series of debates with GOP front-runner Pat Toomey, as she continues a primary run in which garnering attention against a standard-bearer like Toomey has been difficult.

“I have attended public event after public event and been inundated with people opposed to the Senate and House health care proposals not because they have been told by the media that it is a bad bill, but because…

February 25, 2010 at 2:05 pm | Comments (7)

Sestak says Specter’s support is ‘crumbling’

Democrat Joe Sestak sought Thursday to paint recent polling data as proof that Senator Arlen Specter cannot win reelection, saying that “after 30 years, the people of Pennsylvania know Arlen Specter and have reached a verdict on Arlen Specter.”

His comments came, the most direct electability argument he’s made to date, in response to a Franklin & Marshall College poll released Wednesday, which showed Specter holding a 17-point edge over him in the…

February 25, 2010 at 11:00 am | Comments (16)

Toomey still leads both Dems with likely voters

Republican Senate candidate Pat Toomey is holding onto a comfortable edge with likely voters over both his Democratic rivals, though Congressman Joe Sestak (D-7) has closed the gap with all registered voters, according to a new poll.

The Franklin and Marshall College survey released Wednesday showed Toomey beating Senator Arlen Specter 44 percent to 34 percent among likely voters, with 29 percent undecided. In the same group of voters, Toomey would beat 38 percent to…

February 24, 2010 at 9:54 am | Comments (9)

Specter still leads Sestak by 17

Senator Arlen Specter’s lead over Congressman Joe Sestak (D-7) held steady over the last month, with the incumbent still leading his Democratic primary challenger by 17 points three months before the primary, according to a new poll.

The Franklin & Marshall College survey released Wednesday showed Specter winning 33 percent of the vote, compared to 16 percent for Sestak, a margin identical the poll’s findings in January. Forty-four percent of voters are still…

February 24, 2010 at 9:38 am | Comments (10)

Big-time corporate execs to join Toomey at fundraiser

Republican Senate candidate Pat Toomey will get help from executives for some of the country’s biggest corporations Wednesday at a fundraiser in Washington.

An invitation to the event hosted by the political action committee for Caterpillar, the construction equipment manufacturer, describes Toomey as “positioned to be one of the most pro-business, pro-growth members of the Senate.” The invitation e-mail, along with a long list of corporate e-mail addresses, made the rounds on the blogosphere late…

February 23, 2010 at 6:57 pm | Comments (12)

Sestak and Toomey will debate again

For the second time this cycle, Democrat Joe Sestak and Republican Pat Toomey will come together for beers and a debate.

The two Senate hopefuls and Arlen Specter rivals shared a beer in Allentown last September and then debated health care. With Sestak unable to coax Specter into more than one additional debate between now and their May primary showdown, Sestak sought another debate with Toomey, whose policies he called “interchangeable” with Specter’s.…

February 22, 2010 at 2:39 pm | Comments (15)