Congressional rematch in Pa. no GOP party
WASHINGTON -- As the Republican Party works to rebuild its brand, the GOP faces an ideological showdown in Pennsylvania with Wednesday's announcement by former representative Pat Toomey that he will challenge Sen. Arlen Specter for their party's nod in 2010.
Toomey, who resigned Monday as president of the Washington-based Club for Growth, came within 17,000 votes of beating Specter in 2004.
The rematch pits a former House member who preaches fiscal conservatism against a moderate senator who was one of just three Republicans in Congress who supported President Obama's $787 billion stimulus package.
"Republicans will have to decide whether they want to hold the seat or make a statement about issues and ideology," said Stuart Rothenberg, of the non-partisan Rothenberg Political Report.
In announcing his candidacy, Toomey said the state's voters "deserve a voice in the U.S. Senate that will honor our values and fight for limited government, individual freedom and fiscal responsibility."
Specter campaign manager Christopher Nicholas countered that "Toomey's brand of far-right, extreme politics is way out of the mainstream of Pennsylvania politics." He argued that Toomey cannot win the general election in a state that went for Obama in November. That would throw the seat to Democrats, eager to expand their Senate majority to 60 seats — the number needed to avoid GOP filibusters on controversial bills.
Specter, 79, is a five-term senator who serves as the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Toomey, 47, served three terms in the House before losing to Specter. He has run Club for Growth, a conservative group that supports lower taxes, since 2005.
The candidates already are activated. Specter has run a television ad this month that tried to link Toomey's history as a former investment banker to the current financial meltdown. Toomey has made appearances where he has criticized Specter for his stimulus vote.
Specter is a target in 2010 for Democrats who have made steady gains among voters in the Northeast in recent years. Republicans now control just four of the 22 Senate seats from Maryland to Maine — down from 11 in 1984. The number of Democrats also has surged in Pennsylvania, driven in part by voter interest in last year's presidential primary battle between Obama and fellow Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Democrats now represent 51.2% of the Keystone state's 8.8 million registered voters, up from 47.6% when Specter last ran, state election records show. Republicans account for 37% of registered voters, down from 40.7% in 2004. Specter is working to grow the ranks of GOP voters, by encouraging those who switched their party affiliation to rejoin the GOP, Nicholas said.
In 2004, Specter was able to fend off Toomey with the active support of two key Republicans: President Bush, who was up for re-election that year, and then-Sen. Rick Santorum, a popular figure among conservatives. They are gone, but Specter still has the support of the party establishment in Washington. Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who runs the committee charged with electing Republicans to the Senate, has backed Specter.
"The political math for Republicans in 2010 is tough," Cornyn said in a recent letter to supporters.
Republicans have to defend 19 Senate seats, six of which are in states that Obama won, he said. Democrats are defending 17, only two of which are in states captured by McCain.
"We need more candidates that fit their states," Cornyn said. "I believe that Sen. Specter is our best bet to keep this Senate seat in the GOP column."
State law bars Specter from running as an independent if he were to lose the primary.