By Alex Roarty
PoliticsPA Staff Writer
roarty@politicspa.com
An agreement between Democrat Joe Sestak and Republican Pat Toomey to debate before the May 18 primary doesn‘t seem to bother Arlen Specter, who indicated he’s earned the right to stick with the one debate he usually holds with his primary opponent.
“I can’t control that,” the senator said Tuesday during a conference call. “The business about building a professional reputation in government in politics is tough to do. And I’ve been at it for a long time.
“I think it would be a boost to my opponents exposure, and that’s why I’m prepared to have a debate, but I’m not prepared to deviate from what the traditional (format) has been,” he said.
Specter actually is on pace to debate Sestak twice. He unexpectedly held a debate with Sestak at the state Democratic Party’s winter meeting in Lancaster earlier in February, and the two men are scheduled to face off again in Philadelphia before the primary.
But the southeast congressman has asked for six debates, one in each of the state’ media markets. When it became clear the senator wasn‘t going to agree to his request, Sestak sent a letter last week to Toomey to see if he would take Specter’s place.
Toomey and Sestak squared off last year in Allentown when the two men discussed health care reform. They shared a beer at a local bar afterward.
On Monday, Toomey agreed to Sestak‘s proposal and suggested the two men discuss the economy, not health care.
The debate could be a boost to both men, particularly Toomey, who likely would have received little media coverage in the run-up to the primary as reporters focused on the Democratic contest. But Sestak still faces a significant name ID gap against Specter, and a forum with Toomey potentially could receive a great deal of attention.
Specter spoke with bloggers on the afternoon conference call and complimented the questions they asked before signing off by taking a light-hearted shot at his opponents.
“I think this is tougher than being in a debate with my two senatorial contestants.”
