Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

March 25, 2009

Specter Would Lose GOP Primary

A new Quinnipiac poll shows former Rep. Pat Toomey (R) crushing Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) in a Republican primary, 41% to 27% with 28% still undecided.

Overall Pennsylvania voters have a 45% to 31% favorable opinion of Sen. Specter, but he gets a 47% to 29% unfavorable score from Republicans.

Said pollster Clay Richards: "Toomey came close last time and has strong conservative backing, but his challenge could be fractured if more Republicans crowd into the primary and split the anti-Specter vote. If Specter can get past the primary, the controversial veteran has a lot going for him in his bid for reelection, especially without a strong Democratic candidate on the horizon."

Poll Tracker has more analysis.

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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