Specter's final pitch to Pa. voters: 'Experience and seniority'



Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa), right, campaigns outside the Consol Energy Center construction site in downtown Pittsburgh on May 17, 2010. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)



The Post has reporters in three states covering Tuesday's elections. Read the feeds on the Arkansas Democratic Senate primary, the Kentucky Republican Senate primary, and the PA-12 special House election.

Earlier: Campaigns trade jabs as Sestak rallies in Philly; In Pa., 'Surging Sestak' tries to close the deal

Updated 8:18 p.m.

By Paul Kane

Amid a slight drizzle, Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) closed out his campaign for the Democratic nomination Monday the same way he began his campaign 15 months ago for the Republican nomination: selling his nearly 30 years of experience in the U.S. Senate.



Without Philadelphia Phillies All-Star Jimmy Rollins to lead off and no Gov. Ed Rendell (D) to hit clean-up, Specter, 80, capped his bid to beat back a challenge from Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) by touting his "experience and seniority" in the chamber, rattling off decades of accomplishments before several dozen supporters outside Citizen' Bank Park, home of the Phillies.



"I'm a lucky guy. I don't predict the weather. I just predict a victory," Specter said to cheers at the last of five events Monday in almost every corner of the state.



Polls continue to show Sestak and Specter in a neck-and-neck race, with as much as 15 percent of Democratic voters being undecided on whether to back the five-term incumbent or the junior congressman.

Sestak, 58, painted that as a blow to Specter, suggesting those remaining voters who cannot make up their mind must not like the incumbent. "They made their verdict already by being undecided," the second-term lawmaker said at a South Philadelphia rally, outside a church where more than 10 African-American clergy backed his upstart campaign.



Specter contended he was "a little bit ahead ... but it's tight", saying that voter turnout in his key areas of support -- particularly among African Americans in Philadelphia -- could prove decisive Tuesday.

Specter had hoped to have Rollins, the Phillies shortstop, introduce him outside his home ballpark and to have Rendell there to cap off the event. The men are two of the more beloved figures in Philadelphia sports and politics. Rollins, however, is back from an injury so he needed to take batting practice at the time of the rally, while Rendell was stuck in traffic.

Unfazed, Specter launched into a recitation of his more than 40 years in public service. Bucking conventional wisdom that voters have become anti-incumbent, Specter is staking his political life on what he has done for Pennsylvania.

He has run the same campaign for more than 20 years, including in a successful 2004 primary against former representative Patrick Toomey (R). He was delivering the same message in early 2009 but Toomey pulled far ahead of Specter after his vote for President Obama's stimulus bill, so Specter crossed the aisle, with Obama and Rendell's blessing.



Instead of a clear field, he found Sestak playing a similar role as Toomey, except from the left.



Throughout his closing argument, Specter mentioned numerous times that he has cast more than 10,000 votes in the Senate, including 22 votes in support of union organizing laws and his "biggest vote" to support the stimulus plan. He said he was inspired to get into public service after President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963; that his 1987 opposition to Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork altered the course of legal history; that this is his 14th contested election, six of which were decided by 3 percentage points or less. His supporters chanted "six more years" as he took to the podium to speak.



He accused Sestak of suggesting in a Sunday interview with CNN that he would not support Specter if the incumbent won the primary. "There's been some debate as to who's the real Democrat, the good Democrat. I think that answers the question," Specter said.



Earlier Monday, Sestak clarified his remarks. Without directly saying he would endorse Specter, the challenger said he would "do anything" that is legal and ethical to ensure "Patrick Toomey is beat."



As Phillies fans headed into Monday evening's game against the cross-state rival Pittsburgh Pirates, some cheered the senator: "Give 'em hell tomorrow, Arlen," one female fan yelled as his supporters chanted "Arlen, Arlen, Arlen." Another yelled "bye-bye, Arlen," predicting defeat, while another used the famous home-run call of the late Hall of Fame announcer Harry Kalas to predict Specter's fate: "You're outta here!"

5:20 p.m.: Campaigns trade jabs as Sestak rallies in Philly

PHILADELPHIA -- To calls of "amen" from one of Tuesday's most critical voting blocs, Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) accepted the endorsement of a dozen African-American clergy members and officials as he barnstormed the state in the campaign's heated final hours.

"Hope's not enough," Sestak said Monday outside New Hope Baptist Church in South Philadelphia. While the city's largest black clergy group has aligned itself with Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) in Tuesday's down-to-the-wire primary, Sestak has targeted Specter's positions from the 28 years the senator was a Republican to try to peel away voters worried about violent crime and jobs programs in the inner city.

Sestak brings with him to every stop in Philadelphia a Specter campaign flier criticizing Sestak for getting an "F" grade from the NRA. Distributed in gun-friendly western Pennsylvania, Sestak is using it as a wedge against Specter in Philadelphia, citing the five-term incumbent's past opposition to the assault weapons ban.

Some African-American clergy cited Specter's role supporting Republican nominees to the Supreme Court -- including Justice Clarence Thomas -- as reasons for opposing him.

Clarence Pemberton Jr., New Hope's pastor, pointed to Specter's 1991 cross-examination of Anita Hill, the law professor who accused Thomas of sexual harassment. "I don't understand how a black woman can vote for him," Pemberton told reporters.

That said, Specter is believed to have a sizable edge among African American voters. A Suffolk University poll last week showed Specter with a more than 15-percentage-point lead statewide among minority voters, an edge most strategists believe is higher among blacks in Philadelphia, where Specter has in the past won NAACP support as a Republican. In addition, state experts believe Obama's endorsement of Specter carries more weight among African Americans.

Sestak's campaign is hoping to put a dent in that margin, putting the race's decisive voting blocs in the suburbs of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and in clusters around Scranton and Harrisburg. "There's no more kings, there's no more kingmakers," Sestak said before Monday's event, brushing aside Obama's endorsement of Specter.

Contesting for the right to take on former representative Patrick Toomey (R) in what is likely going to be one of the most closely watched Senate races, Specter and Sestak have traded personal jabs in the race's final hours.

Sestak made reference to Specter -- who, at 80, is still battling the effects of Hodgkin's Disease -- as a "dead man walking" on Sunday.

Pemberton compared Specter to "an old glass of wine" that needed to be refreshed. Bishop Leonard C. Goins, head of the Pentecostal Clergy Political Awareness Committee and a Sestak backer, said the state needed "young, energetic ideas."

Specter's campaign has called such age and health-related comments "below the belt."

Sestak made an argument from electability, pointing to polls showing he currently would perform better than Specter against Toomey. "Politically, he will take down the whole ticket," Sestak said in an interview.

State Rep. Tony Payton Jr., 29, a second-term lawmaker, said Sestak's key will be reminding voters, particularly African-Americans, of the contrast between the two candidates' voting records on key domestic policy issues.

"There's a stark comparison there," Payton, who represents North Philadelphia, said.

7:20 a.m. In Pa., 'Surging Sestak' tries to close the deal

PHILADELPHIA -- When freshman state Rep. Frank Burns (D) held a cookout-fundraiser last summer, he invited every Democrat seeking statewide office to speak before 300 or so of his constituents in Johnstown. No one came except for a guy no one had ever heard of, from nearly 200 miles away.

"The only person to show up was an unknown person named Joe Sestak. He asked to speak for five minutes, and he wowed them," Burns recently recalled of the suburban Philadelphia congressman's upstart bid for the Senate.

With that, the freshman lawmaker and his Cambria County Democratic organization lined up behind Sestak against the institutional favorite, Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.).

It was the dog days of August when Sestak announced his bid against Specter, who had the backing of President Obama, Vice President Biden, Gov. Ed Rendell (D-Pa.), the state party organization and almost every key labor union.

Many national party leaders believed the backing of such prominent figures would overcome doubts about the more than 28 years Specter spent as a Republican representing Pennsylvania in the Senate. But those party leaders at the so-called "grass tops" have not exactly nailed down support for Specter at the true grass-roots level.

Many Democratic officials never warmed to the idea of Specter as a Democrat. The incumbent has the backing of 22 Democratic state representatives heading into Tuesday's primary election, far more than Sestak. But, in a state House with 104 Democrats, more than 70 Democratic state representatives stayed neutral and are not helping Specter whip up votes.

One such example is state Rep. Joshua Shapiro (D), from vote-rich eastern Montgomery County, northwest of Philadelphia. An acolyte of Rendell, Shapiro, in just his third term, is widely touted as a future statewide candidate. He remained neutral in the race.

While many party strategists spent the winter and early spring wondering when Sestak would uncork the more than $5 million he collected on an advertising campaign, the two-term congressman instead went to work meeting the Frank Burnses of the world.

As he told a small crowd outside Johnstown 10 days ago, Sestak entered the race with 8 percent name recognition and had to go to every possible local Democratic meet-and-greet across the state, more than 500 since January, to overcome a polling deficit of more than 40 percentage points compared to the well-known five-term senator.

By early April, Sestak's name recognition grew to 55 percent among Democratic voters. At that point, he unleashed a more than $1.6 million campaign of mostly positive campaign ads touting his experience as a Navy admiral. Overall, he spent more than $2.4 million in April, according to Federal Election Commission reports.

Sestak, 58, campaigns against the entire Washington establishment, Democrats included, pitching himself as the angry populist calling for a "new generation" of leadership other than the 80-year-old Specter.

"They lost a lot of faith in Washington," Sestak said in a recent interview, describing voter anger on everything from Wall Street bailouts to the process of passing health-care legislation.

The contrast is intentional, casting himself as the true Democrat who doesn't change his views -- or his party affiliation -- to win votes. Whether true or not, the effort worked on many Democrats who had spent decades trying to find the right candidate to beat Specter. "He's sincere, less like a politician," Rep. Burns said.

As the polls tightenend, the national party apparatus continued to back Specter. Biden made a campaign appearance in his native Scranton and Rendell has been at Specter's side throughout the final days of the campaign. But there is a serious question about how much weight these endorsements carry.

Despite the backing of every major national labor union, Specter trails Sestak badly among union households, 60 percent to 36 percent, according to one poll released last week.

More than a dozen local unions bucked national leaders and endorsed Sestak, as have a handful of county Democratic organizations.

After Sestak had established himself to voters as a recognizable alternative to Specter, he launched a string of tough advertisements in the last 10 days that have reminded Democratic voters of Specter's nearly 45 years as a Republican. The now-infamous ad of Specter holding hands in 2004 with then-President Bush and then-Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) ran countless times the last few days, on everything from cable news to Philadelphia Flyers' NHL playoff games.

The onetime underdog has taken to calling himself "Surging Sestak," as some polls show he has edged slightly ahead of Specter.

In advance of what they now believe will be a Sestak upset win, Republicans are taking note of Obama's decision to not make a late campaign visit for Specter. "On Tuesday, instead of rallying voters to go to the polls for Senator Specter, the president is scheduled to fly right over Pennsylvania and visit a factory in Youngstown, Ohio," Rob Jesmer, executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, wrote in a memo scheduled to be released Monday.

But the race remains tight. From Rendell in Shanachie Irish Pub in the Philadelphia suburb of Ambler to Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) in Allegheny County outside Pittsburgh, senior Democrats were at Specter's side over the weekend vouching for his liberal credentials.

Specter's campaign pitch is simple: He delivers. As a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, Specter has steered billions of dollars to Pennsylvania's towns. The anti-incumbent environment has made that campaign pitch more difficult than in most years, but Specter is sticking to his script down the stretch.

Sestak's supporters worry that, while many local officials are neutral in the race, Specter's big trump card at the grassroots could well be those dollars he delivered to their communities.

"He's done a lot of good for a lot of people," Burns said. "That's why he can switch parties and still keep this a close race."