Poll: Specter’s party switch pays off

A new poll shows Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) ahead in two general election matchups following his party switch, but suggests the contest would become instantly competitive if Tom Ridge (R ) entered the race.

The Quinnipiac poll of Pennsylvania voters shows Specter leading Ridge, the former governor and Homeland Security secretary, 46-43.
 
{mosads}Specter would look much stronger, however, if the GOP nominee winds up being his 2004 primary opponent, former Rep. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.). In that matchup, Specter leads 53-33. The margin is particularly interesting given that, in previous polls when Specter was still a Republican, Quinnipiac had shown Toomey with a wide lead in their primary matchup.
 
Independent voters favor Specter by nine points over Toomey, but those voters flip for Ridge, preferring him by a 10-point margin over Specter.
 
It appears there is little nostalgia for Specter among Republicans, as he takes just 10 percent of the GOP vote against Ridge and 18 percent against Toomey.
 
“A former Republican senator running as a Democrat against a popular former Republican governor seeking to make a political comeback would be a battle royal in Pennsylvania,” said Clay Richards, assistant director of the Quinnipiac Polling Institute, in a statement. Richards describes Ridge as likely the only Pennsylvania GOPer who could make a competitive race against Specter.
 
The poll did not test Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.), who has opened an exploratory committee for governor but is now also considering the Senate race, or Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.), who could challenge Specter in a primary.

Specter shocked most of the political world last week by leaving the Republican party to run as a Democrat in 2010.