By Alex Roarty
PoliticsPA Staff Writer
roarty@politicspa.com

Arlen Specter has nearly twice as much support among registered Democrats in a primary matchup with Joe Sestak, according to a Franklin & Marshall College poll released Wednesday, although nearly half the party’s voters are undecided.

Specter leads Sestak 33 percent to 16 percent, according to the poll, with 44 percent of registered Democrats undecided.

But both men trail Republican Pat Toomey in a general election contest. The former Lehigh Valley congressman beats the incumbent senator 44 percent to 34 percent among likely voters while topping Sestak 38 percent to 20 percent.

Many polls have shown Specter and Sestak trailing Toomey by roughly the same margin, and Wednesday’s survey might boost the incumbent campaign’s arguments it is better suited to defeat the Republican in the fall.

But Specter continues to suffer from abysmal numbers regarding whether voters think he deserves another term in office. Just 25 percent of likely voters think he should be re-elected, according to the poll, while 45 percent view him unfavorably. Only 32 percent of respondents in the poll view him favorably.

The poll was taken between Feb. 15 and Feb. 21 and has a margin of error of 3 points.

Click here to see the full poll’s results.

Tags: Arlen Specter for Senate, Joe Sestak for Senate, Pat Toomey for Senate

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