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Poll: Specter-Sestak race becomes a 'nail-biter'

By EMILY SCHULTHEIS
Philadelphia Daily News

schulte@phillynews.com 215-854-5926

SIX DAYS before Tuesday's primary, Sen. Arlen Specter and U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak are neck-and-neck for the Democratic Senate nomination, according to a new Daily News/Franklin & Marshall poll.

Meanwhile, interest in the race to replace Gov. Rendell remains low, according to poll director G. Terry Madonna, with more than half of registered voters still unsure which candidate they'll choose.

Sestak has a slight lead over Specter among likely voters, 38 percent to 36 percent, but a full quarter of voters remain undecided. The poll, conducted May 3-9, contrasts starkly with March's poll in which more than two-thirds of voters didn't even know Sestak's name, Madonna said.

The Specter-Sestak Senate race has become a "nail-biter," Madonna said, because Sestak's television ads have successfully argued three things: Specter's party switch was for solely political reasons; Specter has voted for Republican policies, and Specter has been in office long enough.

A full 65 percent of Democrats said it's "time for a change" from Specter, while only 26 percent said he deserves to be reelected. And only 32 percent think Specter is doing an "excellent" or "good" job as senator, compared with 33 percent rating his performance as "fair" and 29 percent as "poor."

Continues @ Philly.com

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Does either of them have a chance in November? Both are incumbents in a sense as Sestak is from the U.S.House of Reps side. Sestak may stand a better chance given the party switch-a-roo that Specter has done.. and his flip-flop on Kagan.