Coaxing Arlen Specter into switching parties and running for re-election as a Democrat was a major coup for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who is bending the Senate's schedule to accommodate a presidential fundraiser for Specter Tuesday afternoon in Pennsylvania.
Reid announced Friday that the Senate would hold no votes after 3 p.m. Tuesday. His office later said that the scheduling decision was meant to accommodate a long-planned fundraiser that President Obama is headlining in Philadelphia to benefit Specter's campaign.
The move could delay efforts to finish work on the fiscal 2010 transportation spending bill, which the Senate began considering Thursday.
Specter, who is seeking a sixth term (and his first as a Democrat), faces a primary challenge from Rep. Joe Sestak. The likely Republican nominee is Pat Toomey, a former House member who nearly beat Specter in a 2004 Republican primary.
Event organizers hope to raise $2.5 million for Pennsylvania Senate Victory 2010, a joint fundraising committee that will share proceeds with Specter's campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which is backing Specter over Sestak.
Attendees will include Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, Democratic Gov. Edward G. Rendell and Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter. No other senators are expected to attend.
CQ Politics rates the general election race "Leans Democratic." To see how the 2010 Senate races are shaping up, check out the CQ Politics election map.
-- With Kathleen Hunter
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