Luksik To Challenge Specter In Primary

[WI_DEM]

It’s official. Thirty-year incumbent U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., will face a significant opponent in next year’s Republican primary.

Conservative activist Peg Luksik formed a committee and has already begun raising money in her attempt to unseat Mr. Specter, citing his socially liberal positions and vote for the economic stimulus package as the main reasons for her decision.

Ms. Luksik is no stranger to Pennsylvania politics. She stormed onto the statewide scene in 1990 by almost defeating then-incumbent Auditor General Barbara Hafer in the 1990 Republican gubernatorial primary, garnering 46 percent of the vote. She also ran as a third-party candidate in the 1994 and 1998 gubernatorial contests. More recently, Ms. Luksik was the campaign manager in a nationally followed race to unseat longtime Pennsylvania Democratic U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-12th, where she was instrumental in raising more than $3.5 million for her candidate

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