Editing Arlen Specter (section)

===2010 campaign===
{{Main|2010 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania|2010 United States Senate Democratic primary election in Pennsylvania}}
[[File:Pennsylvania Leadership Forum Arlen Specter (3820151975).jpg|thumb|Specter (far right) at the 2009 [[Netroots Nation]] convention in Pittsburgh]]

Specter was up for re-election to the Senate in 2010, and expressed his plans to run again. On March 18, 2009, Specter said that he was not considering running as an independent. He said, "To eliminate any doubt, I am a Republican, and I am running for re-election in 2010 as a Republican on the Republican ticket."<ref name="inquirer 31909">{{cite news|last=Fitzgerald |first=Thomas |title=Specter staying on Republican ticket |url=http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20090319_Specter_staying_on_Republican_ticket.html |date=March 19, 2009 |work=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |access-date=April 28, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090501111708/http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20090319_Specter_staying_on_Republican_ticket.html |archive-date=May 1, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Subsequently, Specter's 2004 conservative GOP primary challenger, [[Pat Toomey]], announced he would again run for the Republican nomination in the Republican senatorial primary.<ref name="Senate 2010">{{cite news|last=Turner|first=Trish|title=Specter faces conservative challenge from familiar foe|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/specter-faces-conservative-challenge-from-familiar-foe/|work=[[Fox News]]|date=April 15, 2009|access-date=April 28, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421033140/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/15/specter-faces-conservative-challenge-familiar-foe|archive-date=April 21, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>

However, on April 28, 2009, Specter stated that, "As the Republican Party has moved farther and farther to the right, I have found myself increasingly at odds with the Republican philosophy and more in line with the philosophy of the Democratic Party".<ref name="CNN switch">{{cite news|title=Longtime GOP Sen. Arlen Specter becomes Democrat|url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/28/specter.party.switch/index.html|date=April 28, 2009|work=[[CNN]]|access-date=April 28, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090502042007/http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/28/specter.party.switch/index.html|archive-date=May 2, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> He said that he was switching party affiliation and would run as a Democrat in the 2010 election.<ref name="CNN switch"/><ref name="WP switch">{{cite news|url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/04/28/specter_to_switch_parties.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226133830/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/04/28/specter_to_switch_parties.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 26, 2018|title=Specter to switch parties|last=Cillizza|first=Chris|date=April 28, 2009|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=April 28, 2009}}</ref><ref name="NYT switch">{{cite news|url=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/specter-will-run-as-a-democrat-in-2010|title=Specter switches parties|last=Hulse|first=Carl|date=April 28, 2009|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=April 28, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430051611/http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/specter-will-run-as-a-democrat-in-2010/|archive-date=April 30, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the same announcement, Specter also said that he had "surveyed the sentiments of the Republican Party in Pennsylvania and public opinion polls, observed other public opinion polls and have found that the prospects for winning a Republican primary are bleak".<ref name="CNN switch"/> A March 2009 Quinnipiac poll indicated that Specter trailed his likely primary challenger, [[Pat Toomey]], by 14% (41% for Toomey, 27% for Specter).<ref name="Quinn">{{cite web|url=http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1284.xml?ReleaseID=1280&What=&strArea=5;10;&strTime=3 |title=Little-Known GOP Challenger Tops Specter in Primary, Quinnipiac University Pennsylvania Poll Finds; Support For Obama Plan Helps Among Democrats |date=March 25, 2009 |publisher=Quinnipiac University |access-date=April 29, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504001255/http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1284.xml?ReleaseID=1280&What=&strArea=5%3B10%3B&strTime=3 |archive-date=2009-05-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Additional polling found that 70% of Pennsylvania Republicans disapproved of his vote in favor of the [[American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009|Stimulus Bill]]<ref name="inquirer 32609">{{cite news|url=http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/20090326_Two_polls_show_challenges_for_Specter.html |title=Two polls show challenges for Specter |last=Fitzgerald |first=Thomas |date=March 26, 2009 |publisher=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |access-date=April 29, 2009 }}{{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> and that 52 percent of Pennsylvania Republicans disapproved of the job he was doing.<ref name="Quinn"/> Following Specter's switching parties, [[Republican National Committee]] chairman [[Michael Steele]] criticized his leaving the Republican Party, claiming that Specter had "[[Finger (gesture)|flipped the bird]]" at the GOP.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/04/29/1913755.aspx |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120709065847/http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/04/29/1913755.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 9, 2012 |title=Specter bolts the GOP |publisher=[[MSNBC]] |date=April 29, 2009 |access-date=June 13, 2010 }}</ref>

On February 6, 2010, the [[Pennsylvania Democratic Party]] overwhelmingly endorsed Specter at the Democratic State Committee's annual endorsement convention, which was held in [[Lancaster County, Pennsylvania]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/02/arlen_specter_endorsed_by_penn.html|title=Arlen Specter endorsed by Pennsylvania Democratic State Committee|agency=Associated Press|publisher=PennLive.com|date=2010-02-06|access-date=June 13, 2010|archive-url=https://archive.today/20100516163500/http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/02/arlen_specter_endorsed_by_penn.html|archive-date=May 16, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> He received more votes than [[Joe Sestak]], winning more than 77% of the Pennsylvania Democratic State Committee members vote, far in excess of the 2/3 threshold needed to claim the endorsement.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wilson |first=Reid |url=http://hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com/archives/2010/02/specter_endorse.php |title=Specter Endorsed By PA Dems |publisher=Hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com |access-date=June 13, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100306034046/http://hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com/archives/2010/02/specter_endorse.php |archive-date=March 6, 2010 }}</ref> Sestak, however, went on to win the Democratic primary nomination on May 18.<ref name="admiral">Toeplitz, Shira. [http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/37464.html The admiral sinks Arlen Specter.] ''[[Politico (newspaper)|Politico]]''. May 18, 2010.</ref>

Following the primary, Specter endorsed Sestak in the general election. Sestak would go on to lose the general election to Toomey.