According to a new Quinnipiac University poll, Specter the Democrat leads Republican Toomey 53-33 percent in a general election matchup. Ridge, however, trails Specter by just 46-43 percent. Until Specter dropped, Ridge's name wasn't being mentioned in the crowded primary, at least as far as I knew...
Toomey made it impossible for Specter to win re-election as a Republican, smashing him in GOP primary polls and accusing him of being too liberal. There's a lot of time for Toomey to campaign and potentially change these numbers, but if Pennsylvania Republicans value general-election viability over the economic conservatism Toomey offers, things may be tougher for both Specter and Toomey.
This article available online at:
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2009/05/senator-tom-ridge/17061/
