A month or so ago, there were dueling polls regarding how deep in the shit Specter is. Rasmussen breaks the tie:
Pat Toomey 51%
Arlen Specter 30%
Some Other Candidate 9%
Not sure 10%
As for favorables:
Specter is viewed favorably by 42% of Pennsylvania Republicans and unfavorably by 55%, according to a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of voters in the state. Those are stunningly poor numbers for a long-term incumbent senator. Specter was first elected to the Senate in 1980.
Toomey, who served in the House from 1999 to 2005, earns positive reviews from 66% and negative comments from just 19%.
Jeebus. That favorability comparison is only slightly better than Patterson/Cuomo (among Dem primary voters). And Toomey’s lack of unknowns (15%) means that Specter is trapped. Specter has to go nuclear in order to save his seat. In the event that he somehow makes it out of the primary, his general election base would be completely alienated and he’d be left with no money.
I’m hoping that the NRSC pulls a Chaffee, blowing a wad of dough on this unwinnable race and alienating potential donors.