New poll bad news for Sen. Specter

HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 14 (UPI) -- Fewer than one-third of Pennsylvania voters believe U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter should be elected to another term, a poll released Wednesday indicates.

Specter, 79, who switched parties to become a Democrat in April, is seeking a sixth term in 2010. The survey by Susquehanna Polling and Research found 59 percent of those polled said someone else deserves a chance to sit in the Senate, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported.

Jim Lee, president of the polling company, called Specter's numbers "near fatal."

But the senator does better in match-ups against his likely opponents. In a Democratic primary, he would get 44 percent of the vote to 16 percent for Rep. Joe Sestak.

Specter is in a statistical dead heat against former Rep. Pat Toomey, who almost defeated him in the Republican primary in 2004 and is next year's favorite to win the GOP nomination. While 42 percent said they would vote for Specter, 41 percent picked Toomey, 12 percent were undecided and 4 percent liked neither Specter nor Toomey.

Susquehanna polled 700 registered voters who have voted in at least one general election since 2005 between Oct. 7 and Oct. 12. The margin of error is 3.7 percent either way.