Sestak gets help from familiar face for Specter challenge

Ned Lamont, who beat Joe Lieberman in a Democratic primary, will reportedly endorse Arlen Specter's challenger

Published October 15, 2009 9:30PM (EDT)

More bad news for Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa.: Not only is he in trouble for the general election, it appears he might have a real race on his hands in next year's Democratic primary.

A Rasmussen poll released Thursday shows Rep. Joe Sestak, who's challenging Specter for the Democratic nomination, just four percentage points behind the incumbent. 46 percent of respondents said they'd vote for Specter, compared to 42 percent who are behind Sestak; 10 percent remain unsure. In August, Specter had a 13 point lead in the same poll.

Sestak's getting some outside help now, too, from someone whose example he's trying to follow, at least to a point. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Ned Lamont, who beat Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman in a 2006 Democratic primary before losing to him in the general election, will be endorsing Sestak at an event on Monday. The usefulness of that endorsement seems limited, as Lamont has no political machine to speak of, but it might help Sestak with the denizens of the liberal blogosphere, who were pivotal for Lamont.


By Alex Koppelman

Alex Koppelman is a staff writer for Salon.

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2010 Elections Arlen Specter D-pa. Arlen Specter Vs. Joe Sestak Joe Sestak