Former Club for Growth president Pat Toomey announced April 13 that he would make a second attempt at denying then-Republican Sen. Arlen Specter the nomination and thus the chance to run for a sixth term. Just two weeks later, Toomey accomplished his first goal – Specter won’t be the GOP nominee. But his second objective – ending the incumbent’s Senate career – has become exponentially more difficult.
On April 28, Specter, 79, stunned the political world when he announced that he was switching parties and would run for re-election next year as a Democrat. He made no secret that political self-preservation played a big role in his decision.
The first hint that the moderate Specter had at least talked to Democrats about switching parties came on March 12 at a lunch the Christian Science Monitor hosted with Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell. Rendell told reporters that he had spoken with Specter about switching parties, but that he didn’t believe the Senator would because it would give Democrats the 60th seat in the Senate. The comment got some traction in the
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