A plurality of Pennsylvania voters believe Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) should not be reelected in 2010, a new, independent poll found Wednesday.
43 percent of Pennsylvanians said that Specter should not win reelection in 2010, according to a Quinnipiac University poll conducted last week. 40 percent indicated Specter should win again, while 17 percent of voters were undecided.
The numbers could be seen as foreboding for Specter, one of the three Republican Senators to back the $838 billion stimulus plan passed by the Senate yesterday. Specter’s support for the plan could spur a Republican primary challenge, a hurdle the five-term Senator would have to clear before taking on what is expected to be a top Democratic challenger in the general election.
Republicans split at 42 percent as to whether Specter should win reelection.
“Pennsylvania voters are sharply divided over whether Sen. Arlen Specter should be reelected next year, with Republicans almost as negative as Democrats, probably because the GOP Senator is one of only three from the party supporting President Barack Obama’s Stimulus Package,” said Clay F. Richards, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
“But Specter always has been politically controversial and has needed votes from both parties to stay in office,” Richards added.
A silver lining for Specter, 56 percent of Pennsylvania voters said they approved of the way he was handling his job, with 30 percent expressing disapproval. Similar numbers supported the way Specter’s colleague, first-term Sen. Bob Casey (D), was handling his job.
The poll, conducted Feb. 4-9, has a 2.5 percent margin of error.