PA-SEN POLL: Sestak Catches Toomey in Pennsylvania - race now tied at 43% each.

[jefferson_dem]

Sestak Catches Toomey in Pennsylvania

A new Quinnipiac poll in Pennsylvania finds Rep. Joe Sestak (D) and Pat Toomey (R) are deadlocked at 43% each in the U.S. Senate race.

In April, Sestak trailed Toomey by eight points.

Said pollster Peter Brown: "Congressman Joe Sestak, a decided underdog who knocked off U.S. Arlen Specter in the Democratic primary, has now closed an 8-point gap in the last three months to tie Pat Toomey. But the Senate race remains wide open, since at this point about half of the voters don't know enough about either candidate to form an opinion."

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/07/14/sestak_catches_toomey_in_pennsylvania.html

[DCBob]

1. This is great news.. I think Sestack pulls it out but this is too close for comfort..

I am also concerned about the Gov race.. we need a Dem Gov there to help ensure PA stays blue in 2012.

[Cosmocat]

2. Pa ...

I think we might be looking at the Ds getting the senator and the Rs getting the governors mansion ...

I like Joe a lot - he is not going to be a Ted Kennedy type liberal, but he is the kind of tough, progressive type of guy we need more of from our team ...

[old mark]

5. I think we might even take the Governorship, too - Corbett's big support comes from

the very RWers - I think Onorato has to get serious aboug running, though - he can lose very easily with a "laid back" campaign...


mark

[DCBob]

6. Hope so.. latest polls have Corbett up significantly.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2010/governor/pa/pennsylvania_governor_corbett_vs_onorato-1333.html

[Pab Sungenis]

3. "Half of the voters don't know enough about either candidate..."

And the more they know about Toomey, the more they'll like Sestak.

[tabbycat31]

15. my 85 yo grandfather calls Toomey a teabagger

and that is the nicest thing he's said about Toomey. I'm glad someone's paying attention in PA.

[old mark]

4. Toomey has been spending money like crazy - I see his ads several times

every morning for over a week on the Philly channels when the news is on...I have yet to see ONE Sestak ad, but he does have limited funds and he tends to hold his ads till late in the election and then respond with a strong ad that is very effective. He used this tactic against Specter when Specter was leading the Primary, and Sestak won handily.

People here in PA KNOW Toomey is nuts - we had him as a representative, and we really do not want him in the Senate.

Sestak will win, but it will get ugly at the end...


mark

[disillusioned73]

8. Your right, I have yet to see one

Sestak ad here in southcentral PA... actually quite refreshing to not see political ads this early. Toomey seems desperate to me, he knows what Sestak did to Specter and he is trying to get a jump on the polls in order to come out with some last minute smears - I hope the electorate doesn't buy it

[brentspeak]

10. Sestak would make a mistake to hold off on his ads until the end

That strategy worked with Specter because Specter hardly needed any introduction to voters. But Toomey is an unknown to most Pa residents, and waiting until the end of the campaign to define your opponent won't work in this case. I predict a Toomey victory unless Sestak and the DNC funding people get off their butts as soon as possible and start running ads and barnstorming the state.

[Cosmocat]

12. No ...

Specter "being known" and the extent that Toomey is not know has jack to do with it ...

Specter was up by pretty good margins until Sestak started running ads ... Toomey was up on him by fairly wide margins and this latest polls have them even with Toomey doing and Sestak not doing ads ...

Sestak CAN'T run ads now, he doesn't have the money to do it ... First off.

Second, Toomey CLEARLY is worried ... He is trending down with him running ads and Sestak not ...

Sestak ran a great campaign to take down one of the biggest senate warhorses we have seen - in a primary nontheless ... Toomey had very marginal middle appeal, and that is where Sestak has some real draw ...

He only has so many bullets in his chamber from a cash perspective ...

it is what it is ...

[ShadowLiberal]

16. Yeah, I live near Phily, see some Toomey ads, but none from Sestak

I would have guessed that Sestak's numbers would go down from the new ad, not up/stay the same as Toomey, though I'll admit, whenever I've seen the ad it's always on a show I prerecorded, so I just fast forward through it as soon as I see it starting.

[saltpoint]

7. Toomey is a far-Right crazy man.

I'm rootin' for Joe.

[brentspeak]

9. Why is the race this close?

How is an extremist like Toomey doing so well in Pennsylvania?

[RamboLiberal]

11. We have a lot of teabag types in PA

In more rural areas and even in Pittsburgh itself which tends to be conservative older Dem registered voters in name only. Remember we sent Man on Dog Santorum to the Senate for a couple of terms till we got sick of him.

[nutshell2002]

14. "How is an extremist like Toomey doing so well in Pennsylvania?"

Does the name Rick Santorum ring a bell?

[BarackObama2012]

18. Have no Idea

However, I would love to hear how it is going on the ground in PA. Is anyone helping in the campaign?

[Cosmocat]

22. Good enough ...

I live in a part of the center of the state that has a decent democratic party going ... I was VERY relieved that our committee unofficially got behind him in the primary - I thought they would get behind Specter, but they got behind Sestack ...

I get the sense that this is the race people are willing to give blood for, not the governors race.

I can't get out and do anything yet, but I am on listed with a group supporting him, and I got a message that there is some kind of web conference call with him in the next day or so. He is working, make no mistake about that. He won't have the 4-5 million or so that Casey had against Santorum, so he has to be more conservative his money, but Toomey is not Santorum and won't have Santorum money ...

I have a decent feeling about it ... He is a good kind of democrat to run in PA ... Older, military background, not associated with an overly "liberal" past ...

[PADemD]

26. I've phone banked for him a couple of times.

[Kingofalldems]

13. Sneaky repubs not liking this one

Wow. ------>:shrug:

[BootinUp]

17. This plus other recent polls

Nevada, California, how will the MSM spin it as a negative for Obama and the Dems? Maybe they will just have to ignore it.

[Dr Morbius]

19. Every Senate race is critical, and of necessity will continue to be.

Since the GOP decided the Democrats will not be allowed to do much of anything without a supermajority, every Senate race becomes crucial to both parties.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

20. Why on God's earth was Toomey ever ahead of Sestak in the first place?

What the fuck is wrong with this country?!?!?!?!?!!

[Cosmocat]

24. He was a lot like Specter ...

He had a lot more name recognition, and Sestak was just building his up ... Toomey was basically unopposed, three months ago Sestak was a long shot to win the nomination ...

[old mark]

21. Seems that Sestak is still not getting support from the Obama Administration

or the PA democratic party big shots led by Rendell. Sestek won the primary without their help, actually running against their chosen candidate, Arlen Specter.
Sestak drove all over the state, did his own campaigning in person, saved his TV ad money for the last several weeks. I think he is doing pretty mush the same thing now - I will try to check on his financing status and get the real story.


mark

[Cosmocat]

23. eh ...

BO/Rendell committed to Specter and kept their end of that commitment, nothing personal against Sestak - they will back him, Rendell is a tried and true D, and used to be the DNC head, he has been through this stuff 1000 times, he knows what Toomey is, and he will support a GOOD D candidate and not risk having a lunatic like Toomey as one of our senators ...

[old mark]

25. I hope that is true - I have seen no evidence of it yet....nt