Arlen Specter has won the backing of Joe Torsella, who until recently had been vying with Specter for the Democratic Senate nomination.
Torsella, the former deputy mayor of Philadelphia who later headed the city's National Constitution Center, and Specter have some personal history. Specter once hired Torsella's wife to be a counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee when Specter was the panel's chairman.
Torsella, who narrowly lost a Democratic primary for the U.S. House in 2004, organized a Senate campaign in February, when Specter was still a Republican and faced a serious challenge in the GOP primary from Pat Toomey, the former Republican representative who nearly beat Specter in a 2004 Republican primary.
Headed for a likely defeat by Toomey, Specter announced in late April that he would run in a Democratic primary that already included Torsella. With the Democratic establishment behind Specter, Torsella withdrew from the race a couple of weeks later.
Specter will be opposed in the Democratic primary by state Rep. Bill Kortz, who has announced his candidacy, and Rep. Joe Sestak, who is very close to doing so. Toomey is likely to win the Republican nomination.
To see how the 2010 Senate races are shaping up, check out the CQ Politics' election map.
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Also worth noting that Specter's wife was hired by Torsella for Development: http://ratify.constitutioncenter.org/about_us/AdministrativeStaff/index.shtml
Posted by: JackPA
| June 30, 2009 2:26 PM
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