Free Republic

Congratulations to Congressman-elect Mark Critz on his extraordinary victory. Voters in this election responded to Mark Critz's commitment to providing independent leadership that puts Pennsylvania jobs first. This was the only race in the country today where a Democrat faced off against a Republican and the results are clear. Mark Critz focused on creating jobs for middle class families, while Republicans practiced the politics of fear and distortion. For all of their bluster about building a national wave this year, including RNC Chairman Michael Steele's guarantee of victory for Tim Burns, Republican policies were once again rejected when it came...

Pretty much the same way it worked for Martha Coakley. Now we hope Obama will endorse proven liar Joe Sestak.Another Obama minion bit the dust in yesterday's election. Arlen Specter, who has represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate for almost 30 years was just removed despite endorsements from Barack Obama (Arlen should have asked Martha Coakley how that worked out for her) and Robert Casey. It is to be remembered that Senator Casey accepted the endorsement of an anti-Semitic and anti-Catholic hate group. It is with a sense of sadness as opposed to triumph that we see Arlen Specter go....

WASHINGTON - Tuesday's balloting is a fresh reminder of what all the combatants have understood for months: It's a lousy year to be a Democrat, an incumbent or President Obama. At the very least, Democratic majorities in the Senate and House will shrink significantly this November. For the first time, however, it's not just Republican dreamers chirping that the I-loathe-Washington riptide could cause one or both houses of Congress to flip in the fall. "If the election were held today we'd lose both," a top Democratic strategist acknowledged. "Thank goodness it's not being held today - but we still might...

WASHINGTON – The role of endorser in chief isn't working so well for President Barack Obama. Sen. Arlen Specter became the fourth Democrat in seven months to lose a high-profile race despite the president's active involvement, raising doubts about Obama's ability to help fellow Democrats in this November's elections. The first three candidates fell to Republicans. But Specter's loss Tuesday to Rep. Joe Sestak in Pennsylvania's Democratic senatorial primary cast doubts on Obama's influence and popularity even within his own party — and in a battleground state, no less. Of course, it's possible that Democrats will fare better than expected...

PHILADELPHIA — Early on, Senator Arlen Specter’s supporters knew that the 80-year-old Republican-turned-Democrat was in trouble. “Turnout was terrible,” Gov. Edward G. Rendell said less than two hours before the polls closed here. And just about two hours after they had closed, he blamed the rain and the low turnout in Philadelphia for ending Mr. Specter’s 30 years in the Senate.

.S. Rep. Joe Sestak was declared the winner over incumbent Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania's Democratic U.S. Senate primary Tuesday night. The Washington Post projected Sestak the winner, as he led Specter 53.2 percent to 46.8 percent with nearly 76 percent of the vote counted.

Senator Arlen Specter has been defeated in his bid for a sixth term by Democratic challenger joe Sestak

This was every ad voters saw in PA. To the voters, it was a referendum on obama, make no mistake about that.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter on Tuesday was defeated in a Democratic primary in his bid for a sixth term after taking the risky step of switching from the GOP.

WASHINGTON – Political novice Rand Paul rode support from tea party activists to a rout in Kentucky's Republican Senate primary Tuesday night, jolting the GOP establishment. Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter lost his struggle for political survival in Pennsylvania, a five-term incumbent offering experience to voters clamoring for change. Another Democratic incumbent, Sen. Blanche Lincoln, led narrowly in early returns in her race for nomination to a third term in Arkansas, but she risked being thrown into a costly run-off. In a fourth race with national implications, Democrat Mark Critz moved ahead of Republican Tim Burns in a contest to fill...

We needed Toomey to GOTV but he really had the , if it had been Toomey v Specter I think Burns would have had a much better chance of winning. Turnout was key and having competitive Senate and Governors races helped the Democrats turn out nearly 1 million voters. Burns also has a serious primary challenge by Bill Russell since he ran against Murtha last time out. It would be wild if Burns pulls this out against Critz but loses the primary to Russel, a lame duck unless he can run Independent like Charley Crist.

Says serial party switcher Arlen Specter, who fled the Republican Party to run as a Democrat last year. Specter now claims that without him the Tea Party will “take over.”

Specter strongly defends his vigor and then basically runs out of gas...

Democrats Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas face strong tests from the left. Also, a Senate race in Kentucky between a Republican establishment favorite and a conservative "Tea Party" activist will test the strength of that loosely organized movement.

At the Epiphany Church about 7 a.m. this morning, only poll workers were moving about in front of the church's basement entrance. Along the iron fence at the entrance of the Pittsburgh polling place, only two campaign signs hang, one for Democratic State Representative Jake Wheatley and one for his challenger Tonya Payne. As a few drops of rain began to fall, voters began to trickle in. Minnie Muldrow of the Hill District was the first. "I try to keep voting, though it doesn't seem to make a difference to me," Muldrow said. "I just go with the flow." In...

President Barack Obama says he loves Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) — just not quite enough to hazard an 11th-hour political trip to Pennsylvania for an ally of convenience increasingly viewed as unlikely to win. Just last year, the White House was crowing about Specter’s conversion to the Democratic Party, and Obama pledged, “He will have my full support. . .” Tuesday’s primary is telling a different story: Once thought to be an unalloyed asset for most any Democratic candidate, Obama’s personal involvement is no longer guaranteed – or guaranteed to succeed. In close to a dozen contests, Obama’s intervention hasn’t...

Here is video of Karl Rove commenting on Senate primaries in Pennsylvania and Kentucky that will be held tomorrow, May 18, 2010. Rove called the Sestak-Specter race in Pennsylvania a "barn-burner," which is very hard to call. But the fact it is virtually deadlocked does not bode well for the incumbent Specter. In Kentucky, Rove said it appears Rand Paul will win a substantial victory thanks to strong Tea Party support. He believes Paul will also run strong in the Fall General Election.

In what will probably be the last major poll of the race, US Represetative Joe Sestak is just one point ahead of Senator Arlen Specter (42% to 41%) in Pennsylvania's Democratic Senate primary fight. (source) More bad news for Senator Specter: the last minute presidential help he was hoping for won't be coming.

Here is video of CBS News' Bob Schieffer today - the day before the Pennsylvania Primary - saying that sources tell him that the White House is preparing for a loss by incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter in the Democrat Primary, and that President Obama "doesn't want to be associated" with it. Obama has campaigned for Specter. Too late, Mr. President. You are already "associated with it." Specter switched parties to save his own skin (he thought) and do your bidding.